The cytotoxicity of gold nanoparticles is dispersity-dependent.
Nanoparticles are generally dispersed in electrolyte solutions for cell research. They may be aggregated and thus strongly influence the subsequent bio-effects. However, this has been often neglected in nanotoxicity research. In this paper, we selected gold nanoparticles as an example and investigated the role of dispersity in cytotoxicity. Our data indicated that the cytotoxicity of aggregated gold nanoparticles is significantly higher than well-dispersed ones. The dispersity-dependent cytotoxicity may be related to the increase of cellular endocytosis and reactive oxygen species. These results highlighted the importance of the dispersity of nanoparticles in nanotoxicity and nanobiotechnology fields.
State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, The Key Laboratory for Chemical Biology of Fujian Province and Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China. jhgao@xmu.edu.cn.
Dengtong
D
Huang
Hualu
H
Zhou
Hanyu
H
Liu
Jinhao
J
Gao
D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects*; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D057446:Hydrodynamics; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010316:Particle Size; D012995:Solubility
D006046:Gold