Dependence of Nanoparticle Toxicity on Their Physical and Chemical Properties

Abstract

Studies on the methods of nanoparticle (NP) synthesis, analysis of their characteristics, and exploration of new fields of their applications are at the forefront of modern nanotechnology. The possibility of engineering water-soluble NPs has paved the way to their use in various basic and applied biomedical researches. At present, NPs are used in diagnosis for imaging of numerous molecular markers of genetic and autoimmune diseases, malignant tumors, and many other disorders. NPs are also used for targeted delivery of drugs to tissues and organs, with controllable parameters of drug release and accumulation. In addition, there are examples of the use of NPs as active components, e.g., photosensitizers in photodynamic therapy and in hyperthermic tumor destruction through NP incorporation and heating. However, a high toxicity of NPs for living organisms is a strong limiting factor that hinders their use in vivo. Current studies on toxic effects of NPs aimed at identifying the targets and mechanisms of their harmful effects are carried out in cell culture models; studies on the patterns of NP transport, accumulation, degradation, and elimination, in animal models. This review systematizes and summarizes available data on how the mechanisms of NP toxicity for living systems are related to their physical and chemical properties.

Biodegradable zinc oxide composite scaffolds promote osteochondral differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells

“…Augustine et al () reported that 4% ZnO/PVDF‐TrFE was slightly cytotoxic for MSCs and endothelial cells. Different cytotoxicity levels could be due to the properties of the nanoparticles, particle size, purity and size distribution (Sahu, Kannan, Tailang, & Vijayaraghavan, ) in addition to the polymer (Sukhanova et al, ). In this study, ZnO composite scaffolds did not have an adverse effect on cell viability.…”

Preparation and Characterization of Dentin Phosphophoryn‐Derived Peptide‐Functionalized Lignin Nanoparticles for Enhanced Cellular Uptake

“…The cytotoxicity of the nanomedicines depends on the cell−NP interactions that relies on the different NPs' properties, including size, shape, composition, and surface charge . Therefore, we prepared both 2D cell model and 3D tumor cell spheroids to evaluate whether the modifications that were carried out on the LNPs affected their in vitro cytocompatibility.…”

“…However, the bare LNPs showed significant toxicity at 100 µg mL −1 for MDA‐MB‐231 (Figure e), and 50 and 100 µg mL −1 for A549 (Figure f) cell lines. This can be due to a higher content on carboxyl groups of the bare LNPs compared to both peptide‐functionalized LNPs that induces more toxicity to the cells, resulting in an impaired cell viability . Therefore, the peptide‐decorated LNPs were less toxic than the bare LNPs.…”

“…The cytotoxicity of the nanomedicines depends on the cell− NP interactions that relies on the different NPs' properties, including size, shape, composition, and surface charge. [45,46] Therefore, we prepared both 2D cell model and 3D tumor cell spheroids to evaluate whether the modifications that were carried out on the LNPs affected their in vitro cytocompatibility. For that, different concentrations of bare and functionalized LNPs up to 500 µg mL −1 were incubated during 24 h using the 2D model with several human cancer cell lines: prostate cancer (PC3-MM2, Figure 4a), mammary carcinoma (MDA-MB-231, Figure 4b) and lung carcinoma (A549, Figure 4c), which were chosen to evaluate the potential cytotoxic effect of BZL in different types of cancer cells.…”

Nanostructured Antimicrobials in Food Packaging—Recent Advances

“…In addition to size, surface chemistry, crystalline structure, solubility, and chemical composition, factors which have been carefully reviewed elsewhere, the biological (including antimicrobial) activities of nanostructures commonly used as additives in food packaging are affected by shape. Truncated triangular silver nanoplates exhibited stronger bacterial inhibition when compared to spherical or rod‐shaped AgNPs .…”