Oops They Did It Again! Carbon Nanotubes Hoax Scientists in Viability Assays

New materials of emerging technological importance are single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). Because SWCNTs will be used in commercial products in huge amounts, their effects on human health and the environment have been addressed in several studies. Inhalation studies in vivo and submerse applications in vitro have been described with diverging results. Why some indicate a strong cytotoxicity and some do not is what we report on here. Data from A549 cells incubated with carbon nanotubes fake a strong cytotoxic effect within the MTT assay after 24 h that reaches roughly 50%, whereas the same treatment with SWCNTs, but detection with WST-1, reveals no cytotoxicity. LDH, FACS-assisted mitochondrial membrane…