Intercellular carbon nanotube translocation assessed by flow cytometry imaging.

The fate of carbon nanotubes in the organism is still controversial. Here, we propose a statistical high-throughput imaging method to localize and quantify functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes in cells. We give the first experimental evidence of an intercellular translocation of carbon nanotubes. This stress-induced longitudinal transfer of nanomaterials is mediated by cell-released microvesicles known as vectors for intercellular communication. This finding raises new critical issues for nanotoxicology, since carbon nanotubes could be disseminated by circulating extracellular cell-released vesicles and visiting several cells in the course of their passage into the organism.