Quantifying size-dependent interactions between fluorescently labeled polystyrene nanoparticles and mammalian cells

Nanoparticles (NPs) are currently used in a wide variety of fields such as technology,medicine and industry. Due to the novelty of these applications and to ensure their success, aprecise characterization of the interactions between NPs and cells is essential.FindingsThe current study explores the uptake of polystyrene NPs by 1321N1 human astrocytoma andA549 human lung carcinoma cell lines.

In this work we show for the first time a comparisonof the uptake rates of fluorescently labeled carboxylated polystyrene (PS) NPs of differentsizes (20, 40 and 100 nm) in two different cell types, keeping the number of NPs per unitvolume constant for all sizes. We propose a reliable methodology to control the dose offluorescently labeled NPs, by counting individual NPs using automated particle detectionfrom3D confocal microscopy images.

The possibility of detecting individual NPs alsoallowed us to calculate the size of each nanoparticle and compare the fluorescence of singleNPs across different sizes, thereby providing a robust platform for normalization of NPinternalization experiments as measured by flow cytometry.

Conclusions: Our findings show that 40 nm NPs are internalized faster than 20 nm or 100 nm particles inboth cell lines studied, suggesting that there is a privileged size gap in which theinternalization of NPs is higher.

Author: Juan A VarelaMariana G BexigaChristoffer ÅbergJeremy C SimpsonKenneth A Dawson
Credits/Source: Journal of Nanobiotechnology 2012, 10:39

Published on: 2012-09-24

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