title: Toxicity of gold nanoparticles functionalized with cationic and anionic side chains.
abstract: The structure and properties of gold nanoparticles make them useful for a wide array of biological application. Toxicity, however, has been observed at high concentrations using these systems. MTT, hemolysis, and bacterial viability assays were used to explore differential toxicity among the cell types used, using 2 nm core particles. These studies show that cationic particles are moderately toxic, whereas anionic particles are quite nontoxic. Concentration-dependent lysis mediated by initial electrostatic binding was observed in dye release studies using lipid vesicles, providing the probable mechanism for observed toxicity with the cationic MMPCs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts, Amherst 01003, USA.
authors.forename: Catherine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Goodman
authors.forename: Catherine D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: McCusker
authors.forename: Tuna
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yilmaz
authors.forename: Vincent M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Rotello
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000838:Anions / Q000737:chemistry; D019556:COS Cells; D002412:Cations / Q000737:chemistry; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity*; D006461:Hemolysis / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008081:Liposomes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity*; D055672:Static Electricity
chemical_list: D000838:Anions; D002412:Cations; D008081:Liposomes; D006046:Gold