Pulmonary Toxicity, Distribution, and Clearance of Intratracheally Instilled Silicon Nanowires in Rats
Figure 2
Field emission scanning electron micrographs of Si NW suspended and sonicated in phosphate-buffered saline (a) or dispersion medium (b) showing that dispersion medium effectively diminished agglomeration of wires. Electron micrographs of Si NW in dispersion medium were used to establish the length distribution of the NW. A histogram was generated from 730 length measurements of Si NW (c) (frequency, left axis; cumulative percent, right axis). The majority of Si NW were found to fall in the range of ≤5 μm in length while 30% was >5 μm.
