title: In vitro toxicity of nanoceria: effect of coating and stability in biofluids.
abstract: Due to the increasing use of nanometric cerium oxide in applications, concerns about the toxicity of these particles have been raised and have resulted in a large number of studies. We report here on the interactions between 7 nm anionically charged cerium oxide particles and living mammalian cells. By a modification of the particle coating including low-molecular weight ligands and polymers, two generic behaviours are compared: particles coated with citrate ions that precipitate in biofluids and particles coated with poly(acrylic acid) that are stable and remain nanometric. We find that nanoceria covered with both coating agents are taken up by mouse fibroblasts and localized into membrane-bound compartments. However, flow cytometry and electron microscopy reveal that as a result of their precipitation, citrate-coated particles interact more strongly with cells. At cerium concentration above 1 mM, only citrate-coated nanoceria (and not particles coated with poly(acrylic acid)) display toxicity and moderate genotoxicity. The results demonstrate that the control of the surface chemistry of the particles and its ability to prevent aggregation can affect the toxicity of nanomaterials.
authors.affiliation: Matière et Systèmes Complexes, UMR 7057 CNRS Université Denis Diderot Paris-VII, Bâtiment Condorcet , Paris , France.
authors.forename: Nawel
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ould-Moussa
authors.forename: Malak
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Safi
authors.forename: Marie-Alice
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Guedeau-Boudeville
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Montero
authors.forename: Hélène
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Conjeaud
authors.forename: Jean-François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Berret
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects*; D002563:Cerium / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity*; D003102:Colloids / Q000737:chemistry; D004249:DNA Damage / Q000187:drug effects; D004355:Drug Stability; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity*; D051379:Mice; D008954:Models, Biological; D041681:NIH 3T3 Cells; D010316:Particle Size; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D003102:Colloids; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D002563:Cerium; C030583:ceric oxide