title: Cytotoxicity of metal and semiconductor nanoparticles indicated by cellular micromotility.
abstract: In the growing field of nanotechnology, there is an urgent need to sensitively determine the toxicity of nanoparticles since many technical and medical applications are based on controlled exposure to particles, that is, as contrast agents or for drug delivery. Before the in vivo implementation, in vitro cell experiments are required to achieve a detailed knowledge of toxicity and biodegradation as a function of the nanoparticles' physical and chemical properties. In this study, we show that the micromotility of animal cells as monitored by electrical cell-substrate impedance analysis (ECIS) is highly suitable to quantify in vitro cytotoxicity of semiconductor quantum dots and gold nanorods. The method is validated by conventional cytotoxicity testing and accompanied by fluorescence and dark-field microscopy to visualize changes in the cytoskeleton integrity and to determine the location of the particles within the cell.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physical Chemistry, University of Mainz, Jakob-Welder-Weg 11, 55128 Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tarantola
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sunnick
authors.forename: Holger
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Adam
authors.forename: Sebastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pierrat
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rosman
authors.forename: Vladimir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Breus
authors.forename: Carsten
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sönnichsen
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Basché
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wegener
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Janshoff
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000494:pharmacology; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D017097:Electric Impedance; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry; D008670:Metals / Q000737:chemistry*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D045663:Quantum Dots; D012666:Semiconductors
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D008670:Metals; D006046:Gold