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Carboxylated carbon nanotubes stand as the most promising nanovectors for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications due to their ease of covalent conjugation with eclectic functional molecules including therapeutic drugs, proteins, and oligonucleotides. In the present study, we attempt to investigate how the toxicity of acid-oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) can be tweaked by altering their degree of functionalization and correlate the toxicity trend with their biodistribution profile. In line with that rationale, mice were exposed to 10 mg/kg of pristine (p) and acid-oxidized (f) MWCNTs with varying degrees of carboxylation through a single dose of intravenous injection. Thereafter, extensive toxicity studies were carried out to comprehend the short-term (7 day) and long-term (28 day) impact of p- and various f-MWCNT preparations on the physiology of healthy mice. Pristine MWCNTs with a high …