Tiny Rare-Earth Fluoride Nanoparticles Activate Tumour Cell Growth via Electrical Polar Interactions

Abstract

Localised extracellular interactions between nanoparticles and transmembrane signal receptors may well activate cancer cell growth. Herein, tiny LaF3 and PrF3 nanoparticles in DMEM+FBS suspensions stimulated tumour cell growth in three different human cell lines (A549, SW837 and MCF7). Size distribution of nanoparticles, activation of AKT and ERK signalling pathways and viability tests pointed to mechanical stimulation of ligand adhesion binding sites of integrins and EGFR via a synergistic action of an ensemble of tiny size nanoparticles (< 10 nm). While tiny size nanoparticles may be well associated with the activation of EGFR, integrin interplay with nanoparticles remains a multifaceted issue. A theoretical motif shows that, within the requisite pN force scale, each ligand adhesion binding site can be activated by a tiny size dielectric nanoparticle via electrical dipole interaction. The size of the active nanoparticle stayed specified by the amount of the surface charges on the ligand adhesion binding site and the nanoparticle, and also by the separating distance between them. The polar component of the electrical dipole force remained inversely proportional to the second power of nanoparticle’s size, evincing that only tiny size dielectric nanoparticles might stimulate cancer cell growth via electrical dipole interactions. The work contributes towards recognising different cytoskeletal stressing modes of cancer cells.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s11671-018-2775-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Synthesis and Different Effects of Biotinylated PAMAM G3 Dendrimer Substituted with Nimesulide in Human Normal Fibroblasts and Squamous Carcinoma Cells

“…This would depend on dendrimer size, surface molecule charge, reactivity, and concentration. For small nanoparticles (<10 nm), it has been found that rare-earth fluoride nanoparticles at low concentration stimulate proliferation of three human cell lines—A549, SW837, and MCF-7—through activation of EGFR and integrin signaling [77]. Native PAMAM G3 dendrimer molecule has about 3.2 nm diameter.…”

Nanotechnology, Nanomedicine, and the Kidney

“…Similar to every drug, nanoparticles are, to a certain level, toxic [94]. For example, NPs, can translocate across biological barriers and affect secondary target organs [95], they can have adverse effects on certain cancer cells (e.g., activate cancer cells instead of damaging them) [96], agglomerate on the surface of other cells, such as endothelial cells [97] and platelets [98], or form cluster with a large HD [97], influencing their renal excretion resulting in an increased lifetime in the body. Therefore, efforts have to be dedicated to designing NPs to reduce their toxicity.…”

Characterization of Pr-Doped LaF3 Nanoparticles Synthesized by Different Variations of Coprecipitation Method

“…The first is the increasing in size of the NPs which leads to a reduction of the role of the surface. The second is the migration of the OH groups from the NP's core to specific water clusters [30,56,57] which leads to reducing the total amount of Pr 3+ ions contacting with OH groups.…”