Effects of nanotubes on semen quality and fertility in humans: A systematic review of literature
https://doi.org/10.4081/aiua.2024.12192
Accepted: January 15, 2024
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Background: In the medical field, it is increasingly common to observe the use of nanotubes, for example, in the administration of drugs. However, nanotubes raise concerns for male fertility due to potential effects on hormone levels and sperm quality observed in animal studies. In addition, animal exposure to multi-walled carbon nanotube models found alterations in hormone levels, sperm motility, and sperm count. Limited evidence in humans suggests no adverse effects, but further research is needed. This study aimed to perform a systematic review to assess the in vitro effects of nanotubes on semen and fertility in humans.
Methods: We included all published in vitro studies about semen or sperm or male fertility and nanotubes in humans. A search was conducted in LILACS, PubMed, and SCOPUS as of May 2023. The risk of bias was assessed using the QUIN tool.
Results: Four studies using nanotubes on human sperm were included, nanotubes exposure appears not to affect sperm viability; however, some alterations to motility, velocity and production of reactive oxygen species were reported. Limited evidence is provided because of the small quantity of publications.
Conclusions: Nanotubes appear to have no adverse effects on human sperm.
He H, Pham-Huy LA, Dramou P, et al. Carbon nanotubes: Applications in pharmacy and medicine. Biomed Res Int. 2013;2013:578290. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/578290
Popov VN. Carbon nanotubes: Properties and application. Mat Sci Eng R 2004;43:61-102. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mser.2003.10.001
Anzar N, Hasan R, Tyagi M, et al. Carbon nanotube-a review on synthesis, properties and plethora of applications in the field of biomedical science. Sensors Int. 2020;1:100003. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sintl.2020.100003
Isaza M CA, Rudas JS, Cardona-Maya Y, et al. Interfacial phenomena in multiwalled carbon nanotube-reinforced magnesium nanocomposite synthesized by the sandwich technique. Metallograp Microstruct Anal. 2023;12:591-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13632-023-00979-7
Atiq Ur Rehman M, Chen Q, Braem A, et al. Electrophoretic deposition of carbon nanotubes: Recent progress and remaining challenges. Int Mat Rev. 2021;66:533-562. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09506608.2020.1831299
Sharifi M, Pothu R, Boddula R, Bardajee GR. Trends of biofuel cells for smart biomedical devices. Int J Hydrogen Energ. 2021;46:3220-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2020.05.111
Zare H, Ahmadi S, Ghasemi A, et al. Carbon nanotubes: Smart drug/gene delivery carriers. Int J Nanomedicine. 2021;16:1681-706. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2147/IJN.S299448
Saleemi MA, Kong YL, Yong PVC, Wong EH. An overview of recent development in therapeutic drug carrier system using carbon nanotubes. J Drug Deliv Sci Tec. 2020;59:101855. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jddst.2020.101855
Barbarino M, Giordano A. Assessment of the carcinogenicity of carbon nanotubes in the respiratory system. Cancers. 2021;13:1318. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13061318
Farombi EO, Adedara IA, Forcados GE, et al. Responses of testis, epididymis, and sperm of pubertal rats exposed to functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes. Environ Toxicol. 2016;31:543-51. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/tox.22067
Asghar W, Shafiee H, Velasco V, et al. Toxicology study of single-walled carbon nanotubes and reduced graphene oxide in human sperm. Sci Rep. 2016;6:30270. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/srep30270
Cardona Maya Y, Isaza Merino CA, Cardona Maya WD. [Exposure of multi-walled carbon nanotubes to human sperm].[Article in Spanish with English abstract]. Rev Cub Obstet Ginecol. 2020;46:1-11.
Page MJ, McKenzie JE, Bossuyt PM, et al. The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. Int J Surg. 2021;88:105906. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsu.2021.105906
Sheth VH, Shah NP, Jain R, Bhanushali N, Bhatnagar V. Development and validation of a risk-of-bias tool for assessing in vitro studies conducted in dentistry: The QUIN. J Prosthet Dent. 2022. Online ahead of print. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prosdent.2022.05.019
McGuinness LA, Higgins JPT. Risk-of-bias VISualization (robvis): An R package and Shiny web app for visualizing risk-of-bias assessments. Res Synth Meth. 2021;12:55-61. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jrsm.1411
Jha R, Jha PK, Gupta S, et al. Probing suitable therapeutic nanoparticles for controlled drug delivery and diagnostic reproductive health biomarker development. Mater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl. 2016;61:235-45. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msec.2015.12.044
Aminzadeh Z, Jamalan M, Chupani L, et al. In vitro reprotoxicity of carboxyl-functionalised single- and multi-walled carbon nanotubes on human spermatozoa. Andrologia. 2017;49:e12741. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/and.12741
Fan Y, Guo Y, Shi S, Ma J. An electrochemical immunosensor based on reduced graphene oxide/multiwalled carbon nanotubes/thionine/gold nanoparticle nanocomposites for the sensitive testing of follicle-stimulating hormone. Anal Meth. 2021;13:3821-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/D1AY01032H
Eyni H, Ghorbani S, Shirazi R, et al. Three-dimensional wetelectrospun poly (lactic acid)/multi-wall carbon nanotubes scaffoldinduces differentiation of human menstrual blood-derived stem cells into germ-like cells. J Biomater Appl 2017;32:373-83. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0885328217723179
Francis AP, Devasena T. Toxicity of carbon nanotubes: A review. Toxicol Ind Health. 2018;34:200-10. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0748233717747472
Hadizadeh N, Zeidi S, Khodabakhsh H, et al. An overview on the reproductive toxicity of graphene derivatives: Highlighting the importance. Nanotechnol Rev. 2022;11:1076-100. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/ntrev-2022-0063
Copyright (c) 2024 the Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.
Downloads
Citations
