[60]Fullerene for Medicinal Purposes, A Purity Criterion towards Regulatory Considerations

• Published in: Materials Vol. 12; no. 16; p. 2571
• Main Authors: Keykhosravi, Sanaz, Rietveld, Ivo B., Couto, Diana, Tamarit, Josep Lluis, Barrio, Maria, Céolin, René, Moussa, Fathi
• Format: Journal Article Publication
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 12.08.2019; Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI); MDPI
• Subjects: Acne; Buckminsterfullerene; C60; Chemical Sciences; Chromatography; Criteria; Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC); Enginyeria dels materials; Fourier transforms; Free radicals; Fullerene; Fullerenes; Gas chromatography mass; Mass spectrometry; Material chemistry; Materials nanoestructurats; Microscopy; Nanomaterials; Nanomedicina; Nanomedicine; Nanostructured materials; Public health; Purity; Radiation; Scientific imaging; Spectrometry (GC-MS); Thermogravimetric analysis; Toxicity; Àrees temàtiques de la UPC; United Kingdom > UK; France; United States > US; Japan; differential scanning calorimetry (DSC); gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS); purity; nanomedicine; nanomaterials; C60; fullerene; C 60
• ISSN: 1996-1944; 1996-1944
• DOI: 10.3390/ma12162571

Since the early nineties countless publications have reported promising medicinal applications for [60]fullerene (C60) related to its unparalleled affinity towards free radicals. Yet, until now no officially approved C60-based drug has reached the market, notably because of the alleged dangers of C60. Nevertheless, since the publication of the effects of C60 on the lifespan of rodents, a myriad of companies started selling C60 worldwide for human consumption without any approved clinical trial. Nowadays, several independent teams have confirmed the safety of pure C60 while demonstrating that previously observed toxicity was due to impurities present in the used samples. However, a purity criterion for C60 samples is still lacking and there are no regulatory recommendations on this subject. In order to avoid a public health issue and for regulatory considerations, a quality-testing strategy is urgently needed. Here we have evaluated several analytical tools to verify the purity of commercially available C60 samples. Our data clearly show that differential scanning calorimetry is the best candidate to establish a purity criterion based on the sc-fcc transition of a C60 sample (Tonset ≥ 258 K, ∆sc-fccH ≥ 8 J g−1).