Due to their special physicochemical properties, iron nanoparticles offer new promising possibilities for biomedical applications. For bench to bedside translation of super-paramagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs), safety issues have to be comprehensively clarified. To understand concentration-dependent nanoparticle-mediated toxicity, the exact quantification of intracellular SPIONs by reliable methods is of great importance. In the present study, we compared three different SPION quantification methods (ultraviolet spectrophotometry, magnetic particle spectroscopy, atomic adsorption spectroscopy) and discussed the shortcomings and advantages of each method. Moreover, we used those results to evaluate the possibility to use flow cytometric technique to determine the cellular SPION content. For this purpose, we correlated the side scatter data received from flow cytometry with the actual cellular SPION amount. We showed that flow cytometry provides a rapid and reliable method to assess the cellular SPION content. Our data also demonstrate that internalization of iron oxide nanoparticles in human umbilical vein endothelial cells is strongly dependent to the SPION type and results in a dose-dependent increase of toxicity. Thus, treatment with lauric acid-coated SPIONs (SEON LA ) resulted in a significant increase in the intensity of side scatter and toxicity, whereas SEON LA with an additional protein corona formed by bovine serum albumin (SEON LA-BSA ) and commercially available Rienso ® particles showed only a minimal increase in both side scatter intensity and cellular toxicity. The increase in side scatter was in accordance with the measurements for SPION content by the atomic adsorption spectroscopy reference method. In summary, our data show that flow cytometry analysis can be used for estimation of uptake of SPIONs by mammalian cells and provides a fast tool for scientists to evaluate the safety of nanoparticle products.

MiRNAs are deregulated in metastatic primary ccRCC and could be promising prognostic markers for an early prediction of metastasis. Alterations in miRNA expression characterize distant metastases of different metastatic sites. Furthermore, our study suggests a functional role of miR-30c in metastasis. The miRNAs could be a helpful tool for individual follow-up prediction and personalized therapy selection.

Magnetically induced heating of magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) in an alternating magnetic field (AMF) is a promising minimally invasive tool for localized tumor treatment by sensitizing or killing tumor cells with the help of thermal stress. Therefore, the selection of MNP exhibiting a sufficient heating capacity (specific absorption rate, SAR) to achieve satisfactory temperatures in vivo is necessary. Up to now, the SAR of MNP is mainly determined using ferrofluidic suspensions and may distinctly differ from the SAR in vivo due to immobilization of MNP in tissues and cells. The aim of our investigations was to study the correlation between the SAR and the degree of MNP immobilization in dependence of their physicochemical features. In this study, the included MNP exhibited varying physicochemical properties and were either made up of single cores or multicores. Whereas the single core MNP exhibited a core size of approximately 15 nm, the multicore MNP consisted of multiple smaller single cores (5 to 15 nm) with 65 to 175 nm diameter in total. Furthermore, different MNP coatings, including dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA), polyacrylic acid (PAA), polyethylenglycol (PEG), and starch, were investigated. SAR values were determined after the suspension of MNP in water. MNP immobilization in tissues was simulated with 1% agarose gels and 10% polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogels. The highest SAR values were observed in ferrofluidic suspensions, whereas a strong reduction of the SAR after the immobilization of MNP with PVA was found. Generally, PVA embedment led to a higher immobilization of MNP compared to immobilization in agarose gels. The investigated single core MNP exhibited higher SAR values than the multicore MNP of the same core size within the used magnetic field parameters. Multicore MNP manufactured via different synthesis routes (fluidMAG-D, fluidMAG/12-D) showed different SAR although they exhibited comparable core and hydrodynamic sizes. Additionally, no correlation between ζ-potential and SAR values after immobilization was observed. Our data show that immobilization of MNP, independent of their physicochemical properties, can distinctly affect their SAR. Similar processes are supposed to take place in vivo, particularly when MNP are immobilized in cells and tissues. This aspect should be adequately considered when determining the SAR of MNP for magnetic hyperthermia.

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