Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) hold some advantages over conventional organic fluorescent dyes. Due to these advantages, they are becoming increasingly popular in the field of bioimaging. However, recent work suggests that cadmium based QDs affect cellular activity. As a substitute for cadmium based QDs, we have developed photoluminescent stable silicon quantum dots (Si-QDs) with a passive-oxidation technique. Si-QDs (size: 6.5 ± 1.5 nm) emit green light, and they have been used as biological labels for living cell imaging. In order to determine the minimum concentration for cytotoxicity, we investigated the response of HeLa cells. We have shown that the toxicity of Si-QDs was not observed at 112 µg ml(-1) and that Si-QDs were less toxic than CdSe-QDs at high concentration in mitochondrial assays and with lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assays. Especially under UV exposure, Si-QDs were more than ten times safer than CdSe-QDs. We suggest that one mechanism for the cytotoxicity is that Si-QDs can generate oxygen radicals and these radicals are associated with membrane damages. This work has demonstrated the suitability of Si-QDs for bioimaging in lower concentration, and their cytotoxicity and one toxicity mechanism at high concentration.

Nano-hydroxyapatite is used in oral care products worldwide. But there is little evidence yet whether nano-hydroxyapatite can enter systemic tissues via the oral epithelium. We investigated histologically the ability of two types of nano-hydroxyapatite, SKM-1 and Mi-HAP, to permeate oral epithelium both with and without a stratum corneum, using two types of three-dimensional reconstituted human oral epithelium, SkinEthic HGE and SkinEthic HOE respectively with and without a stratum corneum. Both types of nano-hydroxyapatite formed aggregates in solution, but both aggregates and primary particles were much larger for SKM-1 than for Mi-HAP. Samples of each tissue model were exposed to SKM-1 and Mi-HAP for 24 h at concentrations ranging from 1,000 to 50,000 ppm. After treatment, paraffin sections from the samples were stained with Dahl or Von Kossa stains. We also used OsteoSense 680EX, a fluorescent imaging agent, to test for the presence of HAP in paraffin tissue sections for the first time. Our results for both types of nano-hydroxyapatite showed that the nanoparticles did not penetrate the stratum corneum in SkinEthic HGE samples and penetrated only the outermost layer of cells in SkinEthic HOE samples without stratum corneum, and no permeation into the deeper layers of the epithelium in either tissue model was observed. In the non-cornified model, OsteoSense 680EX staining confirmed the presence of nano-hydroxyapatite particles in both the cytoplasm and extracellular matrix of outermost cells, but not in the deeper layers. Our results suggest that the stratum corneum may act as a barrier to penetration of nano-hydroxyapatite into the oral epithelium. Moreover, since oral epithelial cell turnover is around 5–7 days, superficial cells of the non-keratinized mucosa in which nanoparticles are taken up are likely to be deciduated within that time frame. Our findings suggest that nano-hydroxyapatite is unlikely to enter systemic tissues via intact oral epithelium.

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We earlier reported that coating poorly water-soluble drugs with nano-hydroxyapatite (nano-HAP) improves bioavailability after oral administration. In the present study, we coated BCS Class IV drug acetazolamide (AZ) with nano-HAP (AZ/HAP formulation), and investigated its bioavailability and nano-HAP’s role in promoting it. We tested AZ bioavailability after a single oral dose of the AZ/HAP formulation in rats, followed by a series of in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo testing. The binding state of AZ and nano-HAP was analyzed by gel filtration chromatography. AZ permeability was studied using a Caco-2 cell monolayer assay kit, to test for tight junction penetration, then using an Ussing chamber mounted with intestinal epithelium, both with and without Peyer’s patch tissue, to examine the role of intracellular transport. Fluorescence-labeled nano-HAP particles were administered orally in rats to investigate their localization in the intestinal tract. The area under the blood concentration time-curve in rats was about 4 times higher in the AZ/HAP formulation group than in the untreated AZ group. Gel filtration analysis showed AZ and nano-HAP were not bound. The Caco-2 study showed equivalent AZ permeability for both groups, but without significant change in transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER), indicating that tight junctions were not penetrated. In the Ussing chamber study, no significant difference in AZ permeability between the two groups was observed for epithelium containing Peyer’s patch tissue, but for epithelium without Peyer’s patch tissue, at high concentration, significantly higher permeability in the AZ/HAP formulation group was observed. Fluorescent labeling showed nano-HAP particles were present in both intestinal villi and Peyer’s patch tissue 30 min after oral administration. Our results suggest that nano-HAP’s enhancement of drug permeability from the small intestine occurs not via tight junctions, but intracellularly, via the intestinal villi. Further study to elucidate the mechanism of this permeability enhancement is required.

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