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 μg/mL Ti₃C₂ had no observable adverse effect on NSCs and NSCs-derived differentiated cells. However, 25 μg/mL Ti₃C₂ induced significant cytotoxicity and were internalized into the NSCs cells with compromised cell membrane. Furthermore, in the NSCs exposure to 25 μg/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.

中文翻译：

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评估 Ti3C2 MXene 对神经干细胞的细胞毒性

MXenes因其独特的理化性质而受到广泛关注。特别是灵活性和良好的导电性赋予MXenes在神经接口方面的巨大应用前景。然而，MXenes 对神经系统的细胞毒性仍不清楚。在这项研究中，我们使用原代神经干细胞 (NSCs) 和 NSCs 衍生的分化细胞在细胞凋亡、活力、细胞摄取、细胞膜完整性和全局基因方面评估了 Ti ₃ C ₂（研究最多的 MXenes）的细胞毒性表达谱。我们发现 12.5 μg/mL Ti ₃ C ₂对 NSC 和 NSC 衍生的分化细胞没有可观察到的不利影响。然而，25 μg/mL Ti ₃ C ₂诱导显着的细胞毒性并被内化到具有受损细胞膜的 NSC 细胞中。此外，在暴露于 25 μg/mL Ti ₃ C ₂的 NSC 中，我们鉴定了 198 个不同表达的基因 (DEG)，它们主要与细胞外区域相关。此外，DEGs 参与炎症、防御、压力和刺激反应。这项工作将提高我们对 MXenes 在神经系统中的生物相容性的理解，促进 MXenes 的生物医学应用。