Institute of Clinical Physiology, CNR, San Cataldo Research Area, via Moruzzi, 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy.
Center for Micro-BioRobotics@SSSA, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Viale Rinaldo piaggio 34, 56025 Pontedera (Pisa), Italy.
Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces. 2013 Nov 1;111:142-9. doi: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2013.05.031. Epub 2013 May 25.
Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) are intriguing nanomaterials with a wide range of potential biomedical applications. The assessment of BNNT interactions with biological systems, at both the cellular and subcellular levels, is an essential starting point for determining their bio-safety. We explore the effects of increasing concentrations of GC-BNNTs (0-100 μg/mL) on human vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), testing cell toxicity, proliferation, cytoskeleton integrity, cell activation and DNA damage. No significant changes were observed in cell viability, cytoskeleton integrity or DNA damage. Only a modest reduction in cell viability, tested by trypan blue assay, and the increased expression of vascular adhesion molecule-1, a marker of cell activation, were detected at the highest concentration used (100 μg/mL). Taken together, these findings indicate that GC-BNNTs do not affect endothelial cell biology, and are a promising first step in further investigation of their application potential in vascular targeting, imaging, and drug delivery.
氮化硼纳米管（BNNTs）是一种具有广泛潜在生物医学应用的有趣纳米材料。评估 BNNT 与细胞和亚细胞水平的生物系统的相互作用，是确定其生物安全性的重要起点。我们研究了浓度不断增加的 GC-BNNTs（0-100μg/mL）对人静脉内皮细胞（HUVECs）的影响，检测细胞毒性、增殖、细胞骨架完整性、细胞激活和 DNA 损伤。细胞活力、细胞骨架完整性或 DNA 损伤没有明显变化。仅在使用的最高浓度（100μg/mL）下，通过台盼蓝检测到细胞活力略有下降，以及血管黏附分子-1（一种细胞激活标志物）的表达增加。总的来说，这些发现表明 GC-BNNTs 不会影响内皮细胞生物学，并且是进一步研究其在血管靶向、成像和药物输送中的应用潜力的有希望的第一步。
