title: Biocompatibility of gold nanoparticles and their endocytotic fate inside the cellular compartment: a microscopic overview.
abstract: Macrophages are one of the principal immune effector cells that play essential roles as secretory, phagocytic, and antigen-presenting cells in the immune system. In this study, we address the issue of cytotoxicity and immunogenic effects of gold nanoparticles on RAW264.7 macrophage cells. The cytotoxicity of gold nanoparticles has been correlated with a detailed study of their endocytotic uptake using various microscopy tools such as atomic force microscopy (AFM), confocal-laser-scanning microscopy (CFLSM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Our findings suggest that Au(0) nanoparticles are not cytotoxic, reduce the production of reactive oxygen and nitrite species, and do not elicit secretion of proinflammatory cytokines TNF-alpha and IL1-beta, making them suitable candidates for nanomedicine. AFM measurements suggest that gold nanoparticles are internalized inside the cell via a mechanism involving pinocytosis, while CFLSM and TEM studies indicate their internalization in lysosomal bodies arranged in perinuclear fashion. Our studies thus underline the noncytotoxic, nonimmunogenic, and biocompatible properties of gold nanoparticles with the potential for application in nanoimmunology, nanomedicine, and nanobiotechnology.
authors.affiliation: Tissue Engineering and Banking Laboratory, National Centre for Cell Science, Ganeshkhind, Pune, India.
authors.forename: Ravi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shukla
authors.forename: Vipul
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bansal
authors.forename: Minakshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chaudhary
authors.forename: Atanu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Basu
authors.forename: Ramesh R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Bhonde
authors.forename: Murali
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sastry
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D002451:Cell Compartmentation; D002460:Cell Line; D017931:DNA Primers; D004705:Endocytosis; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles; D051379:Mice; D008853:Microscopy / Q000379:methods*; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D017931:DNA Primers; D006046:Gold