Influence of Physicochemical Characteristics and Stability of Gold and Silver Nanoparticles on Biological Effects and Translocation across an Intestinal Barrier—A Case Study from In Vitro to In Silico

Abstract

A better understanding of their interaction with cell-based tissue is a fundamental prerequisite towards the safe production and application of engineered nanomaterials. Quantitative experimental data on the correlation between physicochemical characteristics and the interaction and transport of engineered nanomaterials across biological barriers, in particular, is still scarce, thus hampering the development of effective predictive non-testing strategies. Against this background, the presented study investigated the translocation of gold and silver nanoparticles across the gastrointestinal barrier along with related biological effects using an in vitro 3D-triple co-culture cell model. Standardized in vitro assays and quantitative polymerase chain reaction showed no significant influence of the applied nanoparticles on both cell viability and generation of reactive oxygen species. Transmission electron microscopy indicated an intact cell barrier during the translocation study. Single particle ICP-MS revealed a time-dependent increase of translocated nanoparticles independent of their size, shape, surface charge, and stability in cell culture medium. This quantitative data provided the experimental basis for the successful mathematical description of the nanoparticle transport kinetics using a non-linear mixed effects modeling approach. The results of this study may serve as a basis for the development of predictive tools for improved risk assessment of engineered nanomaterials in the future.

Current Knowledge of Silver and Gold Nanoparticles in Laboratory Research—Application, Toxicity, Cellular Uptake

“…The emerging discrepancies between literature data on the correlation between the physicochemical properties of nanoparticles such as size, shape, type of functionalized surface, and induced toxicity are the inspiration for further scientific research [ 111 ]. It is also essential to more broadly investigate the correlation between the physicochemical properties of nanoparticles and their biodistribution in the organism, as it could help assess the risk of their use in humans [ 115 ].…”

Atomic spectrometry update: review of advances in the analysis of metals, chemicals and materials

“…The second study in this area, by Kohl et al , investigated the translocation of Ag and Au NPs across the gastrointestinal barrier along with related biological effects using an in vitro 3D-triple co-culture cell model. 261 Analysis using sNP-ICP-MS of the samples resulting from incubations with Caco-2 in high glucose DMEM revealed a time-dependent increase of translocated NPs independent of their size, shape, surface charge and stability in cell culture medium. This quantitative data provided the experimental basis for the successful mathematical description of the NP transport kinetics using a non-linear mixed effects modelling approach.…”

“…The translocation of Au nanoparticles across the gastrointestinal barrier along with related biological effects using an in vitro 3D-triple co-culture cell model has also been reported this year, with details given in the section on silver NPs which are also part of the study. 261…”

“…The translocation of Au nanoparticles across the gastrointestinal barrier along with related biological effects using an in vitro 3D-triple co-culture cell model has also been reported this year, with details given in the section on silver NPs which are also part of the study. 261 Three studies reported the use of laser ablation (LA) for detecting the signals from Au NPs. Firstly, Metarapi et al, used LA-sNP-ICP-MS to study Au NP degradation upon laser ablation in order to provide selection guidelines for the optimal laser uence required for LA-NP work.…”

Development and Characterization of a 96‐Well Exposure System for Safety Assessment of Nanomaterials

“…Single Particle ICP-MS Measurements: spICP-MS measurements were carried out on an Agilent ICP-MS 7900 (Agilent Technologies, Waldbronn, Germany) as described in Kohl et al [104] In brief, the samples were introduced using an ASX-500 Autosampler (Agilent Technologies, Waldbronn, Germany) and a peristaltic pump operating at 0.1 rpm, which corresponds to a flow rate of 0.346 mL min −1 . Data were acquired for 60 s recording the intensities of the isotope 107 Ag at a dwell time of 100 µs.…”