'Buckyballs' have the ability to accumulate in living tissue

Research at Purdue University shows that synthetic carbon molecules called fullerenes, or buckyballs, are more likely to accumulate in animal tissue, but the molecule can be easily decomposed in sunlight. thus minimizing their possible harm to the environment.

Buckyballs can be widely used in future products and applications, from cancer therapy equipment to super-hard fabrics and military armor, to chemical and technological sensors containing hydrogen for batteries. batteries and car batteries.

Chad Jafvert, a professor of engineering at Purdue, said: 'Since there are many potential applications, studying the reaction of buckyballs in the environment as well as their possible environmental impact is important'.

The researchers blended buckyballs into aqueous solution and a chemical called octanol, which has similar properties to fatty tissue in animals. Jafvert and PhD student Pradnya Kulkarni were the first to document how buckyballs are 'split', or distributed into water, soil and fatty tissue of wild animals like fish.

These findings suggest that buckyballs are more likely to penetrate adipose tissue than banned DDT pesticides. However, while DDT is harmful to animals, there is currently no known buckyball toxic effect.

Jafvert said: 'This study shows the need for a more thorough understanding of the location of distribution materials in the environment, our findings show that these materials penetrate into fish and other organisms, may reach toxic concentrations. However this also demonstrates the bioaccumulation ability of buckballs. They can decompose in the environment or in the organism '. Researchers still don't know whether buckyballs break down in the environment or be transformed by animals. It is the basis for assessing the cumulative risk of buckyballs in adipose tissue.

Jafvert explains: 'For example, we do not accumulate sugar because we digest sugar, but we accumulate compounds that we do not metabolize. If we have the ability to metabolize buckballs, we won't accumulate them. '

Buckyball molecule model.(Photo: iStockphoto / David Freund)

The findings are detailed in the August issue of the journal Environmental Science and Technology. The author of the paper is Jafvert and Kulkarni.

Researchers have identified 'octanol-water partition coefficient', which allows them to understand the division of buckyballs.

Jafvert said: 'The bottom line is that if buckyballs divide easily from water to octanol, they can also be easily divided from fat-rich water.'

Researchers also studied whether sunlight decomposes buckyballs and carbon nanotubes, which is also a common industrial application, Jafvert said: 'We need to know the reaction. of this material in the environment, do they decompose? What kind of products do they form? So far we know that buckyballs absorb light, and react to light. It is a beneficial feature because it means that buckyballs do not last for a long time in the environment, reducing the exposure and toxins that buckyballs may have. "

Named after R. Buckminster Fuller architect, who designed buckminsterfullerenes, or buckyballs, in the form of spherical molecules comprising 60 carbon atoms . Buckyballs are about 1 nanometer wide, or 1/1 billion meters, which is equivalent to the width of 10 atoms.

Researchers have determined exactly how to dissolve buckyballs in water and claim that these molecules form a cluster, which makes the effort to understand the dissolution process of buckyballs in the water become complex. trash.

Jafverrt said: 'Normally, buckyballs do not appear in water because their solubility is too low, but the same thing happens with DDT. DDT is found in deposits, so buckyballs can also be found in sediments. This means that it is possible that aquatic organisms, like sediment-eating worms, will be more likely to accumulate buckyballs in the body, unless the material decomposes in the environment. "

The research is linked to the Center for Environment, and Birck Nanotechnology Center in Purdue's Discovery Park. The Environmental Protection Agency and the National Science Foundation have funded research through NSF's interdisciplinary nano research group, or NIRT. The study is part of the NIRT project at Purdue that includes agronomic researchers, civil engineering, agricultural and biological engineering, mechanical engineering, food science, and atmospheric science and left land.