title: Cytocompatibility evaluation of glycol-chitosan coated boron nitride nanotubes in human endothelial cells.
abstract: Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) are intriguing nanomaterials with a wide range of potential biomedical applications. The assessment of BNNT interactions with biological systems, at both the cellular and subcellular levels, is an essential starting point for determining their bio-safety. We explore the effects of increasing concentrations of GC-BNNTs (0-100 μg/mL) on human vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), testing cell toxicity, proliferation, cytoskeleton integrity, cell activation and DNA damage. No significant changes were observed in cell viability, cytoskeleton integrity or DNA damage. Only a modest reduction in cell viability, tested by trypan blue assay, and the increased expression of vascular adhesion molecule-1, a marker of cell activation, were detected at the highest concentration used (100 μg/mL). Taken together, these findings indicate that GC-BNNTs do not affect endothelial cell biology, and are a promising first step in further investigation of their application potential in vascular targeting, imaging, and drug delivery.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Physiology, CNR, San Cataldo Research Area, via Moruzzi, 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy. Electronic address: serena@ifc.cnr.it.
authors.forename: Serena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Del Turco
authors.affiliation: Center for Micro-BioRobotics@SSSA, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Viale Rinaldo piaggio 34, 56025 Pontedera (Pisa), Italy.
authors.forename: Gianni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ciofani
authors.affiliation: Center for Nanotechnology Innovation@NEST, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Piazza S. Silvestro 12, 56127 Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cappello
authors.affiliation: Center for Nanotechnology Innovation@NEST, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Piazza S. Silvestro 12, 56127 Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gemmi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Physiology, CNR, San Cataldo Research Area, via Moruzzi, 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Tiziana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cervelli
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Physiology, CNR, San Cataldo Research Area, via Moruzzi, 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Saponaro
authors.affiliation: Department of Nanochemistry, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, via Morego 30, 16163 Genova, Italy.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nitti
authors.affiliation: Center for Micro-BioRobotics@SSSA, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Viale Rinaldo piaggio 34, 56025 Pontedera (Pisa), Italy.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mazzolai
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Physiology, CNR, San Cataldo Research Area, via Moruzzi, 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Basta
authors.affiliation: Center for Micro-BioRobotics@SSSA, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Viale Rinaldo piaggio 34, 56025 Pontedera (Pisa), Italy.
authors.forename: Virgilio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mattoli
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism; D001896:Boron Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology*; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D048271:Chitosan / Q000494:pharmacology*; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004705:Endocytosis / Q000187:drug effects; D022001:Focal Adhesions / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism; D061307:Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006801:Humans; D018799:Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 / Q000378:metabolism; D043942:Nanotubes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic; D019010:Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D001896:Boron Compounds; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; C468783:H2AX protein, human; D006657:Histones; D019010:Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1; C118638:glycol-chitosan; D018799:Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1; C017282:boron nitride; D048271:Chitosan
keywords: Boron nitride nanotubes; Cell activation; Endothelial cells; In vitro testing