Investigating the cytotoxicity of iron oxide nanoparticles in in vivo and in vitro studies.
In recent years, iron oxide nanorods find a lot of applications including drug delivery, cell separation, hyperthermia and magnetic resonance imaging. In this study the cytotoxicity of iron oxide nanorods was evaluated based on mouse fibroblast cell behavior and wistar rat's liver and kidney function. At first for modification, nanorods were added to Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) which contained a lot of sources of vitamins, amino acids, proteins in Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS). The MTT assay was employed for evaluating the toxic effects of 200 and 400 μg/mL modified and non-modified iron oxide nanorods on L929 mouse fibroblast cells in a 24h period. Changes in cell granularity and size as well as cell cycle were investigated using flow cytometry. Moreover liver and kidney function test and serum iron level measurement were performed 24h after the injection of modified iron oxide nanorods via the tail peripheral vein of wistar rats. Results indicated that greater concentration of modified iron oxide nanorods had no significant effect on cell viability while greater concentration of non-modified iron oxide nanorods significantly decreased cell viability. Modified iron oxide nanorods did not have significant effects on cell cycle. The results of liver and kidney function tests did not differ significantly while a significant increase in serum iron level was observed. After H&E staining of slices, there were no changes on morphology of rat's kidney and liver cells. This study suggests that short-time use of 200 and 400 μg/mL iron oxide nanorods are probably safe. Further studies are needed for investigation of toxic effects of different concentrations, coatings, and exposure time periods of iron oxide nanorods.
Department of Physiology & Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran.
Sarieh
S
Ghasempour
National Cell Bank of Iran, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
Mohammad Ali
MA
Shokrgozar
Renewable Energy of Environment Engineering Department, Faculty of New Science of Technology, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Roghayeh
R
Ghasempour
Department of Physiology & Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran. Electronic address: alipourmohsen@yahoo.com.
Mohsen
M
Alipour
D000818:Animals; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects*; D005290:Ferric Compounds / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000633:toxicity*; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000187:drug effects; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D007668:Kidney / Q000187:drug effects*; D007677:Kidney Function Tests; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects*; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000633:toxicity*; D051379:Mice; D043942:Nanotubes / Q000633:toxicity; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
D005290:Ferric Compounds; C000499:ferric oxide
Iron oxide nanorods; Kidney; Liver; Viability