Comparative in vitro toxicity of a graphene oxide-silver nanocomposite and the pristine counterparts toward macrophages

Abstract

BackgroundGraphene oxide (GO) is a highly oxidized graphene form with oxygen functional groups on its surface. GO is an excellent platform to support and stabilize silver nanoparticles (AgNP), which gives rise to the graphene oxide-silver nanoparticle (GOAg) nanocomposite. Understanding how this nanocomposite interacts with cells is a toxicological challenge of great importance for future biomedical applications, and macrophage cells can provide information concerning the biocompatibility of these nanomaterials. The cytotoxicity of the GOAg nanocomposite, pristine GO, and pristine AgNP was compared toward two representative murine macrophages: a tumoral lineage (J774) and peritoneal macrophages collected from Balb/c mouse. The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by J774 macrophages was also monitored. We investigated the internalization of nanomaterials by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The quantification of internalized silver was carried out by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Nanomaterial stability in the cell media was investigated overtime by visual observation, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES), and dynamic light scattering (DLS).ResultsThe GOAg nanocomposite was more toxic than pristine GO and pristine AgNP for both macrophages, and it significantly induced more ROS production compared to pristine AgNP. TEM analysis showed that GOAg was internalized by tumoral J774 macrophages. However, macrophages internalized approximately 60 % less GOAg than did pristine AgNP. The images also showed the degradation of nanocomposite inside cells.ConclusionsAlthough the GOAg nanocomposite was less internalized by the macrophage cells, it was more toxic than the pristine counterparts and induced remarkable oxidative stress. Our findings strongly reveal a synergistic toxicity effect of the GOAg nanocomposite. The toxicity and fate of nanocomposites in cells are some of the major concerns in the development of novel biocompatible materials and must be carefully evaluated.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12951-016-0165-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Cell Growth Inhibition Effect of DsiRNA Vectorised by Pectin-Coated Chitosan-Graphene Oxide Nanocomposites as Potential Therapy for Colon Cancer

“…This might be due to low amount of GO which was used in this assay (250 g/mL). Insignificant loss of peritoneal macrophages viability was also reported previously when the cells were exposed to GO at low concentration [30]. In addition, both cell lines treated with uncoated formulation did not show any decrease in cell viability.…”

“…In addition, GO used in this study has also been shown to enhance cytotoxicity effect displayed by final formulation. Recent study claimed that negatively charged oxygen group of GO can form electrostatic interaction with positively charged lipids present on cell membranes, thus destroying the cell membrane [30]. In contrast to that, GO did not cause decreased cell viability in normal colon cells.…”

“…It was reported that GO sheets exist with very sharp edges and flat surfaces [16] that coincided with the GO produced in current study. Besides, large surface area of GO sheets is usually utilised as support for growth and stabilisation of nanoparticles [30]. Upon mixing GO into CS solution, irregular shape of nanocomposites was observed as shown in Figure 4(b).…”

Combination of graphene oxide–silver nanoparticle nanocomposites and cisplatin enhances apoptosis and autophagy in human cervical cancer cells

“…Recently, de Luna et al assessed the cytotoxicity of a GO-Ag nanocomposite, pristine GO, and pristine AgNPs in two representative murine macrophages: a tumoral lineage (J774) and peritoneal macrophages collected from BALB/c mice. 49 The results from their study suggested that the GO-Ag nanocomposite was more toxic than pristine GO and pristine AgNPs for both macrophages, and it significantly induced more ROS production compared to pristine AgNPs. 49 Altogether, the results suggested that rGO-AgNPs are a promising material for inhibiting the viability of cervical cancer cells.…”

“…49 The results from their study suggested that the GO-Ag nanocomposite was more toxic than pristine GO and pristine AgNPs for both macrophages, and it significantly induced more ROS production compared to pristine AgNPs. 49 Altogether, the results suggested that rGO-AgNPs are a promising material for inhibiting the viability of cervical cancer cells. Therefore, we chose only rGO-AgNPs for further experiments.…”