Stability, cytotoxicity and cell uptake of water-soluble dendron–conjugated gold nanoparticles with 3, 12 and 17 nm cores

Abstract

This article describes the synthesis of water-soluble dendron-conjugated gold nanoparticles (Den-AuNPs) with various average core sizes and the evaluation of stability, cytotoxicity, cell permeability and uptake of these materials. The characterization of Den-AuNPs using various instruments including transmission electron microscopy (TEM), matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS), 1H NMR, FT-IR, and UV-vis spectroscopy confirms the dendron conjugation to the glutathione-capped gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The stability of AuNPs and Den-AuNPs in solutions of different pH and salt concentration is determined by monitoring changes in surface plasmon bands of gold using UV-vis spectroscopy. The stability of Den-AuNPs at different pH remained about the same compared to that of AuNPs. In comparison, the Den-AuNPs are found to be more stable than the precursor AuNPs maintaining their solubility in the aqueous solution with the salt concentration of up to 100 mM. The improved stability of Den-AuNPs suggests that the post-functionalization of thiol-capped gold nanoparticle surfaces with dendrons can further improve the physiological stability and biocompatibility of gold nanoparticle-based materials. Cytotoxicity studies of AuNPs and Den-AuNPs with and without flourophores are also performed by examining cell viability for 3T3 fibroblasts using a MTT cell proliferation assay. The conjugation of dendrons to the AuNPs with flourophore is able to decrease the cytotoxicity brought about by the flourophore. The successful uptake of Den-AuNPs in mouse fibroblast 3T3 cells shows the physiological viability of the hybrid materials.

Photothermal Disintegration of 3T3 Derived Fat Droplets by Irradiated Silica Coated Upconversion Nanoparticles

“…In general, the UCNPs@SiO 2 , owing to the silica shell, were found to be hydrophilic, required for live cell applications, and nontoxic to the cells as compared with metallic NPs reported in the literature. Deol et al showed the cytotoxicity of ≈9 ppm of AuNPs, with approximately the same size as these UCNPs@SiO 2, to be considerably high in 3T3 cells with a viability of only 60% . In hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) apoptosis increased to 80% with the application of 250 ppm of silver NPs independent of their size from 10 to 50 nm .…”

“…Deol et al showed the cytotoxicity of ≈9 ppm of AuNPs, with approximately the same size as these UCNPs@SiO 2, to be considerably high in 3T3 cells with a viability of only 60%. [31] In hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) apoptosis increased to 80% with the application of 250 ppm of silver NPs independent of their size from 10 to 50 nm. [32] 500 × 10 −6 m of cobalt (Co) NPs incubated for 24 and 48 h in BRL-3A (liver) cells were also found to reduce cell viability to <30, and <20% respectively.…”

Recent insights in nanotechnology-based drugs and formulations designed for effective anti-cancer therapy

“…As expected, the functionalization of gold-coated nanoparticles with dendrons prevent aggregation in biological fluids in broad spectrum of pH, in contrast to non-functionalized AuNPs irreversibly aggregated in acidic pH. Additionally, the presence of large dendron ligands protect nanoparticles core from the ionic disruptions resulting in their good stability and solubility in the aqueous solution with the salt concentration of up to 100 mM [ 143 ]. There is also urgent need to improve biodistribution of paclitaxel, whose great antineoplastic properties are limited due to its insolubility in aqueous media and acquired cells chemoresistance.…”

“…Conducted studies confirmed that drugs encapsulation into nanoemulsion results in good stability, longer drugs circulation in blood, lower clearance and metabolism followed by higher accumulation in cancer tissues [ 63 ]. Deol et al engaged FDA-approved, low toxic and non-immunogenic dendrimers to design water-soluble dendron–conjugated gold nanoparticles (Den-AuNPs) in order to improve stability of AuNPs in water solutions [ 143 ]. Despite having the significant anti-cancer potential, the medical use of gold-based nanotherapeutics is expressively reduced due to poor biocompatibility of these structures determined by low colloidal stability required for the prevention of AuNPs agglomeration under physiological conditions [ 144 ].…”

Morphological transformation of gold nanoparticles on graphene oxide: effects of capping ligands and surface interactions

“…Detailed information regarding materials, synthetic procedures, and characterizations ( 1 H NMR, FT-IR, and TGA) for glutathione-capped gold nanoparticles (gAuNP) [28–31], cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)-capped gold nanoparticles (cAuNP) [9], and CTAB-capped gold nanorods (cAuNR) [9], and instrumental methods used to conduct the research presented in this article are provided in the previous publications and Additional file 1 [15, 24, 29].…”