Toxicity of silica nanoparticles depends on size, dose, and cell type

Effects of silica–gentamicin nanohybrids on osteogenic differentiation of human osteoblast-like SaOS-2 cells

“…Moreover, SiO 2 -gentamicin nanohybrids are more toxic to the cells than the native SiO 2 NPs at the same concentrations tested. Previous studies have demonstrated that SiO 2 NPs could be cytotoxic in a dose-and time-dependent manner in different cell lines, including human endothelial cells, 10 human alveolar epithelial cells (A549), 11 human cervical cancer cells (HeLa), 34 and human melanoma cells (A375). 35 A conclusion can be drawn from these previous studies that the cytotoxicity of SiO 2 NPs depends not only on concentration and incubation time of NPs but also on other factors, such as size, morphology, and composition of NPs.…”

“…With regard to osteogenesis, SiO 2 -gentamicin nanohybrids and native SiO 2 NPs at a concentration range of 31.25-125 μg/mL do not influence the osteogenic differentiation capacity of SaOS-2 cells, while at a high concentration (250 μg/mL), the two materials tested induce a lower expression of ALP but an enhanced ECM mineralization. Up to now, a considerable number of researchers have paid attention to the potential cytotoxicity of SiO 2 NPs, and some of this published literature [9][10][11] has claimed that SiO 2 NPs were cytotoxic to different cell lines. Therefore, caution should be exercised when SiO 2 -gentamicin nanohybrids or native SiO 2 NPs are used in orthopedics.…”

“…SiO 2 NPs could be cytotoxic in different cell lines, including human HepG2 hepatoma cells, 9 human endothelial cells, 10 human alveolar epithelial cells (A549), 11 and NIH/3T3 fibroblasts. 11 Meanwhile, other studies have shown that SiO 2 NPs did not significantly influence the cell viability of human and mouse bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), 12,13 MC3T3-E1 cells 13 and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) 13 even at a high concentration of 1 mg/mL. With regard to osteogenesis, several studies have indicated that SiO 2 NPs could promote differentiation and mineralization of osteoclasts [13][14][15] and BMSCs.…”

Antibacterial composite cellulose fibers modified with silver nanoparticles and nanosilica

“…It seems to be very important to compare the toxicity data obtained via different methods in order to explain cell response to nanoparticles exposure (Fede et al 2012). There are many studies, however, concerning the toxicity of silver and silica nanoparticles, but the precise mechanism of interaction between living cells and silica nanoparticles, and the silver-silica nanoparticles system are still not known, requiring further investigations (Kim et al 2015;Fede et al 2012;Rabolli et al 2011;Besinis et al 2014;Schneider 2017).…”

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles trigger mitophagy in endothelial cells and perturb neuronal network activity in a size- and time-dependent manner

“…Although the size-dependent toxicity of MSNPs is still controversial, our results are in agreement with those already reported, where particles in the 20 nm range were more toxic than MSNPs .100 nm in diameter after an incubation time of .24 hours. 32 Few data are available about the relationship between time of exposure and toxicity for MSNPs. However, the difference in size may affect the rate of entry of MSNPs into cells, potentially affecting cytotoxicity.…”