Cellular interactions of functionalized superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles on oligodendrocytes without detrimental side effects: Cell death induction, oxidative stress and inflammation.

Iron oxide nanoparticles have the capability to cross Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) and hence are widely investigated for biomedical operations in the central nervous system. Before being used for the biomedical purpose, it is necessary to investigate its biocompatibility, dosimetry and biological interaction. In the present study, in-house synthesized superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) were functionalized using the polymer, PolyEthylene Glycol (PEG) and a fluorophore (Rhodamine). The interaction of these nanoparticles with murine oligodendrocytes 158N was studied using different assays. The nanoparticles were taken up by the cells via endocytosis and there was a dose-dependent increase in the intracellular iron content as revealed by flow cytometry, transmission electron microscopy and confocal microscopy. Nanoparticles remained stable inside cells even after 24 h. Cell sorting capacity using a magnet depended on the number of particles interact per cell. SPIONs exhibited good biocompatibility as no toxicological responses, including morphological changes, loss of viability, oxidative stress or inflammatory response (IL-1ß, IL-6 secretion) were observed. Together, these data show that the in-house synthesized SPIONs have no side effects on 158N cells, and constitute interesting tools for biomedical applications across brain, including cellular imaging and targeting.

In vitro interaction and biocompatibility of titanate nanotubes with microglial cells.

Titanate nanotubes (TiONts) are promising agents for biomedical applications. Microglial activation and associated oxidative burst are major challenges in drug delivery applications across the brain. Here, TiONts were designed for drug delivery systems by functionalizing them with (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES), their interactions and biocompatibility were studied in vitro using murine microglial BV-2 cells. TiONts-APTES exposure resulted in increased ROS production and transient mitochondrial hyperpolarization. However, there was no indication of microglial proliferation in BV-2 cells as suggested by cell cycle analysis and morphology evaluation. The endocytosis as well as passive diffusion mediated TiONts-APTES internalization were proved by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with and without amiloride, an endocytosis inhibiting agent. In addition, the TiONts-APTES exhibited good biocompatibility on microglial BV-2 cells as revealed by the plasma membrane integrity, lysosmal membrane integrity, morphology and viability analysis.

Zinc oxide nanoparticles mediated cytotoxicity, mitochondrial membrane potential and level of antioxidants in presence of melatonin.

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) are widely used in a variety of products and are currently being investigated for biomedical applications. However, they have the potential to interact with macromolecules like proteins, lipids and DNA within the cells which makes the safe biomedical application difficult. The toxicity of the ZnO NP is mainly attributed reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Different strategies like iron doping, polymer coating and external supply of antioxidants have been evaluated to minimize the toxic potential of ZnO NPs. Melatonin is a hormone secreted by the pineal gland with great antioxidant properties. The melatonin is known to protect cells from ROS inducing external agents like lipopolysaccharides. In the present study, the protective effect of melatonin on ZnO NPs mediated toxicity was evaluated using C6 glial cells. The Cytotoxicity, mitochondrial membrane potential and free radical formation were measured to study the effect of melatonin. Antioxidant assays were done on mice brain slices, incubated with melatonin and ZnO NPs. The results of the study reveal that, instead of imparting a protective effect, the melatonin pre-treatment enhanced the toxicity of ZnO NPs. Melatonin increased antioxidant enzymes in brain slices.

One-step continuous synthesis of functionalized magnetite nanoflowers.

For the first time, functionalized magnetite nanoparticles (Fe3O4 NPs) that form aggregates with a nanoflower morphology were synthesized using a rapid (11 s) one-step continuous hydrothermal process, which was recently modified, and their application as a T 2 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent was evaluated. The nanoparticles functionalized with 3,4-dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine (LDOPA) or 3,4-dihydroxyhydrocinnamic acid (DHCA) consisted of small crystallites of approximately 15 nm of diameter that assembled to form flower-shaped aggregate structures. The Fe3O4-LDOPA nanoflowers exhibited a high transverse relaxivity, r 2 of 418 ± 10 l mmolFe (-1) s(-1) at 3 T owing to magnetic dipolar interactions, which is twice as that of the commercial Feridex®/Endorem®. The prepared nanostructures were compared with bare Fe3O4 NPs and citrated Fe3O4 NPs. DHCA, LDOPA, and citric acid (CA) were found to have an anti-oxidizing effect and to influence the crystallite size and the lattice parameter of the NPs. DHCA and LDOPA increased the crystallite size, whereas CA decreased it. Surface modification increased the colloidal stability of NPs as compared to bare NPs. Nanoflower suspensions of Fe3O4-LDOPA NPs were found to be stable in the phosphate-buffered saline, saline medium, and minimal essential medium and formed aggregates of sizes smaller than 120 nm. All samples were found to be superparamagnetic in nature and the highest saturation magnetization was obtained for the Fe3O4-LDOPA samples. These NPs can bind to polymers such as PEG, and to fluorescent and chelating agents owing to the presence of free -NH2 or -COOH groups on the surface of NPs, allowing their use in dual imaging applications.

Immobilized Pd on magnetic nanoparticles bearing proline as a highly efficient and retrievable Suzuki-Miyaura catalyst in aqueous media.

A magnetically retrievable nanocatalyst was evaluated for a microwave assisted Suzuki-Miyaura reaction in aqueous media. Excellent yields and conversions were obtained with low Pd loadings (down to 0.01 mol% Pd). It was stable up to 6 months in water under aerobic conditions and efficiency remained unaltered even after 7 repeated cycles.

The radiosensitization effect of titanate nanotubes as a new tool in radiation therapy for glioblastoma: a proof-of-concept.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: One of the new challenges to improve radiotherapy is to increase the ionizing effect by using nanoparticles. The interest of titanate nanotubes (TiONts) associated with radiotherapy was evaluated in two human glioblastoma cell lines (SNB-19 and U87MG). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Titanate nanotubes were synthetized by the hydrothermal treatment of titanium dioxide powder in a strongly basic NaOH solution. The cytotoxicity of TiONts was evaluated on SNB-19 and U87MG cell lines by cell proliferation assay. The internalization of TiONts was studied using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Finally, the effect of TiONts on cell radiosensitivity was evaluated using clonogenic assay. Cell cycle distribution was evaluated by flow cytometry after DNA labeling. DNA double-stranded breaks were evaluated using γH2AX labeling. RESULTS: Cells internalized TiONts through the possible combination of endocytosis and diffusion with no cytotoxicity. Clonogenic assays showed that cell lines incubated with TiONts were radiosensitized with a decrease in the SF2 parameter for both SNB-19 and U87MG cells. TiONts decreased DNA repair efficiency after irradiation and amplified G2/M cell-cycle arrest. CONCLUSION: Our results indicated that further development of TiONts might provide a new useful tool for research and clinical therapy in the field of oncology.

Easy route to functionalize iron oxide nanoparticles via long-term stable thiol groups.

The functionalization of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIOs) by meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) was investigated. Under ambient conditions, the thiol groups from DMSA are not stable and do not allow a direct functionalization without storage in stringent conditions or a chemical regeneration of free thiols. In this study, we have developed a protocol based on poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) grafting of SPIO prior to DMSA anchoring. We have observed that PEG helps to increase the stability of thiol groups under ambient conditions. The thiol functionalized SPIOs were stable under physiological pH and ionic strength as determined by Ellman's essay and allowed us to graft a thiol reactive fluorescent dye: tetramethylrhodamine-5-maleimide (TMRM).

HIV-1 subtyping using phylogenetic analysis of pol gene sequences.

HIV-1 pol gene sequencing is now used routinely in France to identify mutations associated with resistance to reverse transcriptase (RT) or protease (PR) inhibitors. These sequences may also provide other information, such as the HIV-1 subtype. HIV-1 subtyping was compared using the RT and PR gene sequences to heteroduplex mobility assay (HMA) of the envelope gene. The RT and PR genes of 51 samples that had been subtyped earlier by HMA were sequenced. Sequences were aligned and subtypes were determined by phylogenetic analysis with reference HIV sequences. HMA gave the following subtypes: A (20), B (19), C (1), D (3), F (1), G (3) and CRF01-AE (4). Phylogenetic analysis of the RT gene gave: A (5), B (19), C (2), D (3), F (1), G (6), J (2), CRF01_AE (4), CFR02_AG (7) and undetermined (2). PR gene analysis did not infer subtypes with sufficient confidence. HMA and RT subtyping was not in agreement in nine cases. RT subtyping can identify CFR02_AG and CRF01_AE variants from A subtype RT. It was shown that phylogenetic analysis of the RT gene could provide a useful method for HIV-1 subtyping. The length of the amplicon and the relative performance of each primer pair used in this study favoured RT sequences as a subtyping tool. One potential advantage over env subtyping HMA is the ability to identify some circulating recombinant forms (CRFs).