Bietar Kais, Chu Siwei, Mandl Gabrielle, Zhang Emma, Chabaytah Naim, Sabelli Renata, Capobianco John A, Stochaj Ursula
Department of Physiology, McGill University Canada
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Centre for Nanoscience Research, Concordia University Canada
RSC Adv. 2024 Mar 14;14(13):8695-8708. doi: 10.1039/d3ra08869c.
Lanthanide-doped upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) are ideal candidates for use in biomedicine. The interaction of nanomaterials with biological systems determines whether they are suitable for use in living cells. In-depth knowledge of the nano-bio interactions is therefore a pre-requisite for the development of biomedical applications. The current study evaluates fundamental aspects of the NP-cell interface for square bipyramidal UCNPs containing a LiYF:Yb, Tm core and two different silica surface coatings. Given their importance for mammalian physiology, fibroblast and renal proximal tubule epithelial cells were selected as cellular model systems. We have assessed the toxicity of the UCNPs and measured their impact on the homeostasis of living non-malignant cells. Rigorous analyses were conducted to identify possible toxic and sub-lethal effects of the UCNPs. To this end, we examined biomarkers that reveal if UCNPs induce cell killing or stress. Quantitative measurements demonstrate that short-term exposure to the UCNPs had no profound effects on cell viability, cell size or morphology. Indicators of oxidative, endoplasmic reticulum, or nucleolar stress, and the production of molecular chaperones varied with the surface modification of the UCNPs and the cell type analyzed. These differences emphasize the importance of evaluating cells of diverse origin that are relevant to the intended use of the nanomaterials. Taken together, we established that short-term, our square bipyramidal UCNPs are not toxic to non-malignant fibroblast and proximal renal epithelial cells. Compared with established inducers of cellular stress, these UCNPs have minor effects on cellular homeostasis. Our results build the foundation to explore square bipyramidal UCNPs for future applications.
镧系元素掺杂的上转换纳米颗粒（UCNPs）是生物医学应用的理想选择。纳米材料与生物系统的相互作用决定了它们是否适用于活细胞。因此，深入了解纳米-生物相互作用是生物医学应用发展的先决条件。本研究评估了含有LiYF:Yb、Tm核心和两种不同二氧化硅表面涂层的方形双锥体UCNPs的纳米颗粒-细胞界面的基本方面。鉴于其对哺乳动物生理学的重要性，选择成纤维细胞和肾近端小管上皮细胞作为细胞模型系统。我们评估了UCNPs的毒性，并测量了它们对非恶性活细胞内稳态的影响。进行了严格的分析，以确定UCNPs可能的毒性和亚致死效应。为此，我们检测了能揭示UCNPs是否诱导细胞杀伤或应激的生物标志物。定量测量表明，短期暴露于UCNPs对细胞活力、细胞大小或形态没有深远影响。氧化应激、内质网应激或核仁应激的指标以及分子伴侣的产生随UCNPs的表面修饰和所分析的细胞类型而变化。这些差异强调了评估与纳米材料预期用途相关的不同来源细胞的重要性。综上所述，我们确定，短期而言，我们的方形双锥体UCNPs对非恶性成纤维细胞和肾近端上皮细胞无毒。与已确定的细胞应激诱导剂相比，这些UCNPs对细胞内稳态的影响较小。我们的结果为探索方形双锥体UCNPs的未来应用奠定了基础。
