Graphene and its derivatives are popular nanomaterials used worldwide in many technical fields and biomedical applications. Due to such massive use, their anticipated accumulation in the environment is inevitable, with a largely unknown chronic influence on living organisms. Although repeatedly tested in chronic in vivo studies, long-term cell culture experiments that explain the biological response to these nanomaterials are still scarce. In this study, we sought to evaluate the biological responses of established model A549 tumor cells exposed to a non-toxic dose of pristine graphene for eight weeks. Our results demonstrate that the viability of the A549 cells exposed to the tested graphene did not change as well as the rate of their growth and proliferation despite nanoplatelet accumulation inside the cells. In addition, while the enzymatic activity of mitochondrial dehydrogenases moderately increased in exposed cells, their overall mitochondrial damage along with energy production changes was also not detected. Conversely, chronic accumulation of graphene nanoplates in exposed cells was detected, as evidenced by electron microscopy associated with impaired cellular motility.

Department of Histology and Embryology Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Kralove Charles University Simkova 870 500 03 Hradec Králové Czech Republic

Department of Medical Biochemistry Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Kralove Charles University Simkova 870 500 03 Hradec Králové Czech Republic

Department of Medical Biology and Genetics Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Kralove Charles University Simkova 870 500 03 Hradec Králové Czech Republic

Department of Medical Biophysics Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Kralove Charles University Simkova 870 500 03 Hradec Králové Czech Republic

Department of Physiology Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Kralove Charles University Simkova 870 500 03 Hradec Králové Czech Republic

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