title: The effects of particle size and surface coating on the cytotoxicity of nickel ferrite.
abstract: The safety and toxicity of nanoparticles are of growing concern despite their significant scientific interests and promising potentials in many applications. The properties of nanoparticles depend not only on the size but also the structure, microstructure and surface coating. These in turn are controlled by the synthesis and processing conditions. The dependence of cytotoxicity on particle size and on the presence of oleic acid as surfactant on nickel ferrite particles were investigated in vitro using the Neuro-2A cell line as a model. For nickel ferrite particles without oleic acid prepared by ball milling, cytotoxicity was independent of particle size within the given mass concentrations and surface areas accessible to the cells. For nickel ferrite particles coated with oleic acid prepared by the polyol method, the cytotoxicity significantly increased when one or two layers of oleic acid were deposited. Large particles (150+/-50 nm diameter) showed a higher cytotoxicity than smaller particles (10+/-3 nm diameter).
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National University of Singapore, Kent Ridge, Singapore 119260, Republic of Singapore.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: H P
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Too
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Chow
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D002460:Cell Line; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002470:Cell Survival; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible / Q000737:chemistry*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005290:Ferric Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D008422:Materials Testing; D051379:Mice; D008823:Micelles; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D009532:Nickel / Q000737:chemistry*; D019301:Oleic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D010316:Particle Size; D013499:Surface Properties; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; D005290:Ferric Compounds; D008823:Micelles; D019301:Oleic Acid; D009532:Nickel