The development of society depends on the advancement of new materials. Within the Horizon Europe project Repoxyble, a sustainable alternative to conventional epoxy resins have been developed. Some of the developed materials are also 2D carbon nanomaterials, which are intended to be incorporated into nanocomposite materials together with the resins. To avoid potential adverse effects of human and environmental exposure to these newly developed materials, toxicity testing must be conducted prior to their implementation. As part of this master's thesis, we tested the cytotoxicity of two 2D carbon nanomaterials, a solvent for graphene nanoplatelets, three epoxy resins and three epoxy resin hardeners. The effects of these materials on cell viability of A549 pulmonary cells were assessed using the resazurin assay, the neutral red uptake assay and the Coomassie Brilliant Blue G-250 staining assay. Additionally, the impact of the materials on cells was examined via visual inspection under a microscope. Subsequently, the genotoxicity of five selected materials was assessed using the alkaline version of the comet assay, tested at the highest non-cytotoxic concentrations. Among the 2D carbon nanomaterials, graphene oxide was not cytotoxic, while graphene nanoplatelets interfered with two of the assays, but did not show cytotoxicity in the neutral red uptake assay. Neither of the two 2D carbon nanomaterials was genotoxic. All three epoxy resins tested were cytotoxic at concentrations above 50 µg mL⁻¹. The cytotoxic effects of the epoxy resin hardeners varied significantly – while one of the hardeners was non-cytotoxic at the tested concentrations, another exhibited cytotoxicity even at low concentrations (≥ 5 µg mL⁻¹). Neither the selected epoxy resin nor the two selected hardeners were genotoxic. To more precisely interpret the results obtained, detailed characterization of the tested materials would be necessary, as the toxicity of individual materials strongly depends on various physicochemical properties.
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