Study on subacute inhalation toxicity and offspring teratogenicity of C4F7N: An environmentally friendly insulating gas to replace SF6

Perfluoroisobutyronitrile (C4F7N) is an environmentally friendly gas insulating medium that has been widely concerned. In order to ensure the safe application of C4F7N in the power industry, it is necessary to study the toxicity mechanism of C4F7N gas. In this paper, the 28 d subacute inhalation toxicity and teratogenicity test are conducted. At the same time molecular docking and enrichment analysis are used to explore the binding interaction of C4F7N with proteins and obtain the enrichment pathway, so as to reveal the toxicological mechanism of the gas. The test results show that high-dose of C4F7N causes altered lung foam cell aggregation in rats, significantly increases the rate of fetal teratogenicity, and especially affects fetal skeletal development. The molecular docking results show that C4F7N has good binding ability with 58 kinds of protein. The enrichment results indicate that C4F7N may lead to disordered regulation of MAPK pathway and imbalance of autophagy level in rats, which may be the reason for lung foam cell aggregation and the increase of malformation rate in the test. The topological analysis of the protein-protein interaction network further reveals that the lung injuries and teratogenic effects in rats may be closely related to the three key targets of ALB, EGFR, and CASP3. The results of this study can provide important biosafety references for the further extensive application of C4F7N in the power industry. [Display omitted] •Long-term low-dose inhalation of C4F7N causes hypoxic erythrocytosis.•The lung is the most important target organ for C4F7N toxicity.•C4F7N has a teratogenic effect on rat offspring.•C4F7N damage to the lung is associated with MAPK pathway activation.•ALB, EGFR, and CASP3 are key targets for the toxic effects of C4F7N.