engleski

Stability of metal-based nanoparticles in cell culture medium

Research and development in the area of new nanomaterials containing metal-based nanoparticles (NPs) are seen as having an enormous economic potential for new drugs and medical treatments, electronics, environmental remediation. The factors and conditions that most influence the biological effects of NPs are still uncertain due to the lack of data on the physiochemical properties of NPs and their transformation under experimental and/or biological conditions. Preparation of stable nanoparticle medium dispersions is essential for biological examinations of NPs. Stable NPs produced in the laboratory may become unstable when dispersed in different media. Generally, in vitro examinations require dispersing NPs into the culture medium. The cell culture medium includes several amounts of salts, proteins, amino acids, and vitamins as nutrients of cells, and dispersed NPs may form various sizes of secondary particles. In order to draw valid conclusions from the evaluation of the cellular influences of NPs, we performed comprehensive evaluation on characteristics and stability of metal-based NPs in cell culture medium (CCM). We have selected 3 types of maghemite γ-Fe203 NPs (uncoated, coated with poly-L-lysine and coated with D-manose) and 7 types of silver NPs (coated with citrate, poly- L-lysine, cetyltrimethylammonium, bis(2- ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate, Tween 20, polyvinylpyrrolidone, and dodecyltrimethylammonium which differ according to the coating agent applied for surface modifications. Characterization of purified NPs was performed in both ultrapure water UPW and CCM by using dynamic light scattering (DLS) method, UV-Vis spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). For all types of NPs tested, the aggregation behavior was demonstrated upon suspension in CCM. The TEM results were in accordance with DLS measurements showing particles organized in nanometric, but also in micrometric agglomerates. Observed results, showing that all tested NPs are prone to aggregate in CCM, emphasize the need for characterization of NPs in the media used for toxicity experiments.

metallic nanoparticles; stability; cell media

nije evidentirano