Investigation of the effect of magnetite iron oxide particles size on cytotoxicity in A₅₄₉ cell line

Abstract

Introduction: Magnetite as iron oxide is widely used in various industries, in the pharmaceutical industry in particular where it is used for its magnetic properties. The environmental and occupational exposure to airborne nanoparticles and microparticles of iron oxide compounds have been reported. Since authors have reported contradictory results, the objective of this study was to investigate the effect of particles’ size in their toxicities. Methods: The human cell line A549 was exposed with magnetite iron oxide in two size categories of micro (≥5 µm) and nano (<100 nm), with four concentrations of 10, 50, 100, and 250 µg/ml at two time periods of 24 and 72 h. The cell viability, reactive oxygen species (ROS), changes in mitochondrial membrane potential, and incidence of apoptosis were studied. Results: Nano and micro magnetite particles demonstrated diverse toxicity effects on the A549 cell line at the 24- and 72-h exposure periods; however, the effects produced were time- and concentration-dependent. Nano magnetite particles produced greater cellular toxicities in forms of decreased viabilities at concentration exposures greater than 50 µg/ml ( p < 0.05), along with increased ROS ( p < 0.05), decreased cellular membrane potential ( p < 0.05), and reduced rate of apoptosis ( p < 0.05). Discussion: The results of this study demonstrated that magnetite iron in nano-range sizes had a greater absorbability for the A549 cell line compared to micro sizes, and at the same time, nanoparticles were more toxic than microparticles, demonstrating higher production of ROS and decreased viabilities. Considering the greater toxicity of nanoparticles of magnetite iron in this study, thorough precautionary control measures must be taken before they can be used in various industries.

Insight into the bioabsorption of Fe‐based materials and their current developments in bone applications

“…[39] The hardly dissolved corrosion products will remain in an insoluble state for a certain time period and these insoluble corrosion products have been shown to incite cytotoxicity. [40][41][42][43]…”

Flame spheroidisation of dense and porous Ca2Fe2O5 microspheres

“…Magnetic microparticles (MMP) have great potential in healthcare and pharmaceutical applications, and for environmental remediation. In particular, magnetic microspheres (MMS) are considered advantageous for biomedical applications due to their chemical stability, 15 biocompatibility 15,16 and ease of transport within blood vessels, if they can be produced at a size (o3 mm) suitable for flow inside hepatic arteries. 17 Magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) microspheres and nanospheres have been investigated for magnetic-induced hyperthermia treatment of cancers 18 and have been employed successfully as contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), 15,19 whilst targeted magnetic drug-delivery systems are currently at the pre-clinical stage.…”

The influence of IONPs core size on their biocompatibility and activity in in vitro cellular models

“…According to the research conducted so far, ROS formation in cells exposed to IONPs is usually significantly higher than for those subjected to microparticles of magnetite 27 , 51 . However, these results cannot be extrapolated to magnetite NPs with different core diameters.…”