title: Cyto and genotoxicity of gold nanoparticles in human hepatocellular carcinoma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells.
abstract: Engineered nanomaterials have been extensively applied as active materials for technological applications. Since the impact of these nanomaterials on health and environment remains undefined, research on their possible toxic effects has attracted considerable attention. It is known that in humans, for example, the primary site of gold nanoparticles (AuNps) accumulation is the liver. The latter has motivated research regarding the use of AuNps for cancer therapy, since specific organs can be target upon appropriate functionalization of specific nanoparticles. In this study, we investigate the geno and cytotoxicity of two types of AuNps against human hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from healthy human volunteers. The cells were incubated in the presence of different concentrations of AuNps capped with either sodium citrate or polyamidoamine dendrimers (PAMAM). Our results suggest that both types of AuNps interact with HepG2 cells and PBMC and may exhibit in vitro geno and cytotoxicity even at very low concentrations. In addition, the PBMC were less sensitive to DNA damage toxicity effects than cancer HepG2 cells upon exposure to AuNps.
authors.affiliation: Nanomedicine and Nanotoxicology Laboratory, Physics Institute of São Carlos (IFSC), University of São Paulo, 13560-970 São Carlos, SP, Brazil. iedammp@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Iêda Maria Martinez
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Paino
authors.forename: Valéria Spolon
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Marangoni
authors.forename: Rita de Cássia Silva
authors.initials: Rde C
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
authors.forename: Lusânia Maria Greggi
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Antunes
authors.forename: Valtencir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Zucolotto
mesh_terms: D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002951:Citrates / Q000494:pharmacology; D020552:Comet Assay; D004249:DNA Damage; D050091:Dendrimers / Q000494:pharmacology; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D056945:Hep G2 Cells; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000187:drug effects*; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000633:toxicity*; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D000077559:Sodium Citrate
chemical_list: D002951:Citrates; D050091:Dendrimers; C104700:PAMAM Starburst; D000077559:Sodium Citrate; D006046:Gold