title: Toxicity evaluation of high-fluorescent rare-earth metal nanoparticles for bioimaging applications.
abstract: Research on nanometer-sized luminescent semiconductors and their biological applications in detectors and contrasting agents is an emergent field in nanotechnology. When new nanosize technologies are developed for human health applications, their interaction with biological systems should be studied in depth. Rare-earth elements are used in medical and industrial applications, but their toxic effects are not known. In this work, the biological interaction between terbium-doped gadolinium oxysulfide nanoparticles (GOSNPs) with human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), human-derived macrophages (THP-1), and human cervical carcinoma cell (HeLa) were evaluated. The GOSNPs were synthetized using a hydrothermal method to obtain monodisperse nanoparticles with an average size of 91 ± 9 nm. Characterization techniques showed the hexagonal phase of the Gd2O2S:Tb3+free of impurities, and a strong green emission at λemi= 544 nm produced by Tb3+was observed. Toxic effects of GOSNPs were evaluated using cell viability, apoptosis, cell-cycle progression, and immunological response techniques. In addition, an Artemia model was used to assess the toxicity in vivo. Results indicated cell apoptosis in both types of cells with less sensitivity for PBMC cells compared to HeLa cells. In addition, no toxic effects were observed in the in vivo model of Artemia. Moreover, GOSNPs significantly reduced the activation and cell-cycle progression of PBMC and HeLa cells, respectively. Interestingly, an increase in proinflammatory cytokines was not observed. Our data suggest that fluorescence applications of GOSNPs for biolabeling are not toxic in primary immune cells and they may have an immunomodulatory effect. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 105B: 605-615, 2017.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of BioPolymers and Nanostructrures, Faculty of Chemical Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, CP 78210, San Luis Potosí, S.L.P., México.
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hernandez-Adame
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Immunology and Molecular and Celullar Biology, Faculty of Chemical Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, CP 78210, San Luis Potosí, S.L.P., México.
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cortez-Espinosa
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Immunology and Molecular and Celullar Biology, Faculty of Chemical Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, CP 78210, San Luis Potosí, S.L.P., México.
authors.forename: Diana P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Portales-Pérez
authors.affiliation: Bioquemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, CP 78210, San Luis Potosí, S.L.P., México.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Castillo
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6H 3Z6, Canada.
authors.forename: Wayne
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Food and Environmental, Universidad de las Américas Puebla, 72810, San Andrés Cholula, Puebla, México.
authors.forename: Zaida N
authors.initials: ZN
authors.lastname: Juarez
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences, Universidad de las Américas Puebla, 72810, San Andrés Cholula, Puebla, México.
authors.forename: Luis R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Hernandez
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6H 3Z6, Canada.
authors.forename: Horacio
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bach
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of BioPolymers and Nanostructrures, Faculty of Chemical Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, CP 78210, San Luis Potosí, S.L.P., México.
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Palestino
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001156:Artemia; D058948:Cell Tracking / Q000379:methods*; D005682:Gadolinium / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000737:chemistry*; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D008422:Materials Testing; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000737:chemistry*; D013725:Terbium / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D013725:Terbium; D005682:Gadolinium
keywords: biological cells; immunomodulatory effect; oxysulfides; toxicity