Investigating the Role of Shape on the Biological Impact of Gold Nanoparticles in Vitro

Abstract

Aim: To investigate the influence of gold nanoparticle geometry on the biochemical response of Calu-3 epithelial cells. Materials & methods: Spherical, triangular and hexagonal gold nanoparticles (GNPs) were used. The GNP-cell interaction was assessed via atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The biochemical impact of GNPs was determined over 72 h at (0.0001–1 mg/ml). Results: At 1 mg/ml, hexagonal GNPs reduced Calu-3 viability below 60%, showed increased reactive oxygen species production and higher expression of proapoptotic markers. A cell mass burden of 1:2:12 as well as number of GNPs per cell (2:1:3) was observed for spherical:triangular:hexagonal GNPs. Conclusion: These findings do not suggest a direct shape-toxicity effect. However, do highlight the contribution of shape towards the GNP-cell interaction which impacts upon their intracellular number, mass and volume dose.

Keywords::

• biocompatibility
• caspases
• Cathepsin-B
• CD95 (APO-1/Fas)
• cell death
• gold nanoparticles
• lung epithelial cells
• nanoparticle shape
• nanotoxicology
• reactive oxygen species

Financial & competing interests disclosure

This study was partially financed by the European Commission via ERA-NanoScience, project ‘NanoTruck’ awarded to JM de la Fuente and F Tian. F Tian and J Conde are currently Marie Curie Fellows. A Casey and HJ Byrne received funding from Science Foundation Ireland 11/PI/1108. JM de la Fuente was funded by MAT2011–26851-CO2–01 project of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and Fondo Social Europeo (FSE; Gobierno de Aragón), for partially financing this research. B Pelaz acknowledges the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for her fellowship. MJD Clift and BR Rutishauser acknowledge the funding received from the European Respiratory Society (Fellowship LTRF-MC1572–2010 to MJD Clift), the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Adolphe Merkle Foundation. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Ethical conduct of research

The authors state that they have obtained appropriate institutional review board approval or have followed the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki for all human or animal experimental investigations. In addition, for investigations involving human subjects, informed consent has been obtained from the participants involved.

Additional information

Funding

This study was partially financed by the European Commission via ERA-NanoScience, project ‘NanoTruck’ awarded to JM de la Fuente and F Tian. F Tian and J Conde are currently Marie Curie Fellows. A Casey and HJ Byrne received funding from Science Foundation Ireland 11/PI/1108. JM de la Fuente was funded by MAT2011–26851-CO2–01 project of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and Fondo Social Europeo (FSE; Gobierno de Aragón), for partially financing this research. B Pelaz acknowledges the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for her fellowship. MJD Clift and BR Rutishauser acknowledge the funding received from the European Respiratory Society (Fellowship LTRF-MC1572–2010 to MJD Clift), the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Adolphe Merkle Foundation. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.