Tissue Sites of Uptake ofC-Labeled C60

This paper describes thein vivobehavior and potential metabolism of C₆₀and a more water-soluble quaternary ammonium salt-derivatized C₆₀. In both cases, a¹⁴C-labeled fullerene core was utilized for the target molecules that were intravenously injected into female Sprague–Dawley rats. The¹⁴C-labeled C₆₀(*C₆₀) was rapidly (within 1 min) cleared from the circulation and the majority of the *C₆₀accumulated in the liver (90–95%). *C₆₀was not eliminated from the liver over the 120-h period of this study. Our results also suggest that C₆₀is not metabolized by the typical oxidative patterns characteristic of other polycyclic aromatics. Therefore, although not acutely toxic, use of C₆₀, or its derivatives that could be cleaved back to the parent C₆₀in vivo, would likely lead to long-term fullerene accumulation in the liver. The uptake of *C₆₀and¹⁴C-labeled ammonium salt-derivatized C₆₀(1)by human keratinocytesin vitroshowed that while both *C₆₀and1are readily taken up by cells,1accumulates more slowly. Additionally, while C₆₀, at rather high concentrations (2.0 μM) and over extended periods of time (8 days), is able to inhibit the growth of human keratinocytes by about 50%, this effect showed little, if any, photoinducability.