Comparative safety evaluation of silica-based particles

Interactions between silica nanoparticles and phospholipid membranes

“…A possible contribution of reactive oxygen species (ROS) towards hemolysis was excluded by using SNPs, which were selected based on their inability to generate ROS in different test systems [23]. For these experiments, pure phospholipid vesicles with a defined lipid composition and size distribution were used as model system (See Table 1).…”

“…SNPs were synthesized and characterized as described previously [23]. In brief, the reaction Zeta potential was obtained by analysis of electrophoretic mobility of particles (Delsa Nano C, Beckman, Nyon, Switzerland).…”

“…The dye leakage assay was performed as described earlier [23] using a SpectraMax M2 fluorescence spectrophotometer (Molecular Devices, Sunnyvale, CA). LUVs were prepared as described above using phosphate buffer containing 12.5 mM ANTS and 45 mM DPX.…”

“…In previous experiments [23], we were able to design SNPs, which did not induce any oxidative stress in cultured cells and acellular environment. Interestingly, these anionic SNPs with a size of 85 nm caused hemolysis, whereas amine-modified cationic SNPs with comparable size did not induce hemolysis [23].…”

“…Interestingly, these anionic SNPs with a size of 85 nm caused hemolysis, whereas amine-modified cationic SNPs with comparable size did not induce hemolysis [23]. Following up on this observation, we decided to use these SNPs as a well characterized model system to study mechanisms of silanolinduced hemolysis excluding the compromising factor of ROS generation.…”