The role of the coating and aggregation state in the interactions between iron oxide nanoparticles and 3T3 fibroblasts

TL;DR

This study investigates how the coating and aggregation state of iron oxide nanoparticles influence their toxicity and cellular uptake in fibroblast cells, highlighting the importance of physico-chemical properties in nanomaterial-cell interactions.

Contribution

It provides new insights into how different coatings affect nanoparticle stability, biocompatibility, and uptake in fibroblasts, emphasizing the role of aggregation state.

Findings

Most nanoparticles were biocompatible with 100% cell viability.

Citrate-coated particles showed strong cellular uptake due to dispersion destabilization.

Aggregation and sedimentation influence nanoparticle-cell interactions.

Abstract

Recent nanotoxicity studies revealed that the physico-chemical characteristics of engineered nanomaterials play an important role in the interactions with living cells. Here, we report on the toxicity and uptake of the iron oxide sub-10 nm nanoparticles by NIH/3T3 mouse fibroblasts. Coating strategies include low-molecular weight ligands (citric acid) and polymers (poly(acrylic acid), MW = 2000 g mol-1). We find that most particles were biocompatible, as exposed cells remained 100% viable relative to controls. The strong uptake shown by the citrate-coated particles is related to the destabilization of the dispersions in the cell culture medium and their sedimentation down to the cell membranes.