Processing nanoparticles with A4F-SAXS for toxicological studies: Iron oxide in cell-based assays.
Nanoparticles are not typically ready-to-use for in vitro cell culture assays. Prior to their use in assays, powder samples containing nanoparticles must be dispersed, de-agglomerated, fractionated by size, and characterized with respect to size and size distribution. For this purpose we report exemplarily on polyphosphate-stabilized iron oxide nanoparticles in aqueous suspension. Fractionation and online particle size analysis was performed in a time-saving procedure lasting 50 min by combining asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation (A4F) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Narrowly distributed nanoparticle fractions with radii of gyration (R(g)) from 7 to 21 nm were obtained from polydisperse samples. The A4F-SAXS combination is introduced for the preparation of well-characterized sample fractions originating from a highly polydisperse system as typically found in engineered nanoparticles. A4F-SAXS processed particles are ready-to-use for toxicological studies. The results of preliminary tests of the effects of fractionated iron oxide nanoparticles with a R(g) of 15 nm on a human colon model cell line are reported.
BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Richard-Willstätter-Str. 11, 12489 Berlin, Germany. patrick.knappe@bam.de
Patrick
P
Knappe
Linda
L
Boehmert
Ralf
R
Bienert
Silvana
S
Kamutzki
Silvana
S
Karmutzki
Birgit
B
Niemann
Alfonso
A
Lampen
Andreas F
AF
Thünemann
D018938:Caco-2 Cells; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D005290:Ferric Compounds / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity; D031521:Fractionation, Field Flow / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity / Q000648:ultrastructure; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D008954:Models, Biological; D010316:Particle Size; D053838:Scattering, Small Angle; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction / Q000379:methods*
D005290:Ferric Compounds; C000499:ferric oxide