Evaluating the Cytotoxicity of Ti3C2 MXene to Neural Stem Cells

MXenes have attracted extensive attention due to their unique physicochemical properties. Especially, the flexibility and good conductivity endow MXenes with a great application prospect in the neural interfaces. However, the cytotoxicity of MXenes to nervous system remains unclear. In this study, we evaluated the cytotoxicity of Ti3C2 (the most studied MXenes) using primary neural stem cells (NSCs) and NSCs-derived differentiated cells in terms of apoptosis, viability, cellular uptake, cell membrane integrity, and global gene expression profiles. We found that 12.5 mu g/mL Ti3C2 had no observable adverse effect on NSCs and NSCs-derived differentiated cells. However, 25 mu g/mL Ti3C2 induced significant cytotoxicity and were internalized into the NSCs cells with compromised cell membrane. Furthermore, in the NSCs exposure to 25 mu g/mL Ti3C2, we identified 198 differently expressed genes (DEGs), which were mainly associated with the extracellular region. Besides, the DEGs were involved in inflammatory, defense, stress, and stimulus response. This work will improve our understanding of biocompatibility of MXenes in the nervous system and promote the biomedical application of MXenes.