Effect of Graphene Family Materials on Multiple Myeloma and Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Cell Lines

Abstract

The interest around the graphene family of materials is constantly growing due to their potential application in biomedical fields. The effect of graphene and its derivatives on cells varies amongst studies depending on the cell and tissue type. Since the toxicity against non-adherent cell lines has barely been studied, we investigated the effect of graphene and two different graphene oxides against four multiple myeloma cell lines, namely KMS-12-BM, H929, U226, and MM.1S, as well as two non-Hodgkin lymphoma cells lines, namely KARPAS299 and DOHH-2. We performed two types of viability assays, MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide conversion) and ATP (adenosine triphosphate detection), flow cytometry analysis of apoptosis induction and cell cycle, cell morphology, and direct interaction analysis using two approaches—visualization of living cells by two different systems, and visualization of fixed and dyed cells. Our results revealed that graphene and graphene oxides exhibit low to moderate cytotoxicity against cells, despite visible interaction between the cells and graphene oxide. This creates possibilities for the application of the selected graphene materials for drug delivery systems or theragnostics in hematological malignancies; however, further detailed studies are necessary to explain the nature of interactions between the cells and the materials.

Comparison of the Toxicity of Pristine Graphene and Graphene Oxide, Using Four Biological Models

“…A similar phenomenon has been observed by other authors in studies using in vitro cell cultures [ 5 , 8 , 46 ]. To observe the behavior of PG and GO in the in vitro conditions, HS-5 cells were exposed to increasing concentrations of nanomaterials (5–100 μg/mL) and their cellular viability was determined using XTT assay after 24 h. The viability of HS-5 cells decreased after administration of PG at concentrations of 20–100 μg/mL.…”

“…The growing biomedical field of applications of graphene-based materials raises questions regarding their toxicity. The interaction between dispersed GFM has been studied in vitro using human and animal cell cultures, such as HaCaT keratinocytes [ 2 ], human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) [ 3 ], glioma cells [ 4 , 5 , 6 ], human multiple myeloma cells (RPMI-8226) [ 7 , 8 ], human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) [ 9 ], red blood cells [ 10 ] and neuronal cells [ 11 ]. Many studies have shown that graphene toxicity depends on the size of the flakes.…”

Graphene Oxide Significantly Modifies Cardiac Parameters and Coronary Endothelial Reactivity in Healthy and Hypertensive Rat Hearts Ex Vivo

“…The toxicity of GO was evaluated in vitro in cellular models for adherent and nonadherent cell types and was reported to be low or moderate. Furthermore, GO (only particles of a small lateral size) increased the growth rate of the vascular smooth muscle cells while not affecting cell migration .…”