General Cytotoxicity and Its Application in Nanomaterial Analysis

Abstract

The recent increasing interest in the use of different nanoparticles in biological and medical applications encouraged scientists to analyse their potential impact on biological systems. The biocompatibility analyses of novel materials for medical applications are conducted using quantitative and qualitative techniques collected by the International Standards Organization (ISO). The well-known assays, such as tetrazolium-based assays used for mitochondrial function monitoring, LDH for membrane permeability determination and neutral red uptake (NRU) describing lysosome function, need to be optimised due to specific properties of wide range of nanomaterials. Physicochemical properties of nanoparticles (NPs) such as size, composition, concentration, shape and surface (e.g., charge, coating, aspect ratio), as well as the cell type play a crucial role in determining the nanomaterial toxicity (also uptake pathway(s) of NPs). Different nanomaterials exhibit different cytotoxicity from relatively non-toxic hexagonal boron nitride to rutile TiO 2 NPs that induce oxidative DNA damage in the absence of UV light. Finally, the results of the nanomedical analysis can be enriched by holographic microscopy that gives valuable information about the doubling time (DT), cell segmentation, track cell movement and changes in cell morphology. The results can be also completed by phenotype microarrays (PMs) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques that fulfil experimental data.

Label-Free Digital Holographic Microscopy for In Vitro Cytotoxic Effect Quantification of Organic Nanoparticles

“…The resulting averaged and background corrected QPI images contain information about the phase shift Δ φ cell induced by the cells as described by Equation (1), where n cell is the integral cellular refractive index which is proportional to the concentration of the entire intracellular content, n medium is the refractive index of the cell culture medium and d cell is the thickness of the cells [ 46 ]. Due to the experimental configuration of our study, the absolute parameters d cell and n cell (Equation (1) are unknown and can change temporally after incubation of cells with nanomaterials, for example, as caused by toxicity-related water content alterations or membrane bursts [ 40 , 47 ]. We thus monitored instead of ∆ φ cell the temporal dry mass course and the dry mass increment of the entire cell population within the field of view (FOV) after 24 h, which is independent of the cellular water content, as described below.…”

“…Due to the experimental configuration of our study, the absolute parameters d cell and n cell (Equation ( 1) are unknown and can change temporally after incubation of cells with nanomaterials, for example, as caused by toxicity-related water content alterations or membrane bursts [40,47]. We thus monitored instead of ∆ϕ cell the temporal dry mass course and the dry mass increment of the entire cell population within the field of view (FOV) after 24 h, which is independent of the cellular water content, as described below.…”

Laser‐induced optothermal response of gold nanoparticles: From a physical viewpoint to cancer treatment application

“…Biodistribution and toxicity of NPs are mostly related to the way they are injected, that is, orally, intravenously, or directly into the tumor, and to their size. Nanomaterials composition is also a factor that determines the cellular uptake mechanisms and the intracellular localization of NPs, as well as their chemical interaction with cells [68].…”

Recent developments, applications and challenges for carbon quantum dots as a photosynthesis enhancer in agriculture

“…It is a biological assessment and screening test that uses tissue cells in vitro to determine how CQD affects cell growth, reproduction, and morphology. 147 Since CQD is applied in agriculture, where crops are used as a food source for humans, it is critical to conduct a vitro cytotoxicity test, which is commonly done using the MTT assay. 147 MTT assay is also known as cell viability assay.…”