Probing and Preventing Quantum Dot-Induced Cytotoxicity with Multimodal α-Lipoic Acid in Multiple Dimensions of The Peripheral Nervous System

Abstract

Aim: Toxicity of nanoparticles developed for biomedical applications is extensively debated as no uniform guidelines are available for studying nanomaterial safety, resulting in conflicting data obtained from different cell types. This study demonstrates the varied toxicity of a selected type of nanoparticle, cadmium telluride quantum dots (QDs), in three increasingly complex cell models of the peripheral nervous system. Materials & methods: QD-induced cytotoxicity was assessed via cell viability assays and biomarkers of subcellular damage in PC12 cells and mixed primary dispersed dorsal root ganglia (DRG) cultures. Morphological analysis of neurite outgrowth was used to determine the viability of axotomized DRG explant cultures. Results & discussion: Cadmium telluride QDs and their core metals exert different degrees of toxicity in the three cell models, the primary dispersed DRGs being the most susceptible. α-lipoic acid is an effective, multimodal, cytoprotective agent that can act as an antioxidant, metal chelator and QD-surface modifier in these cell systems. Conclusion: Complex multicellular model systems, along with homogenous cell models, should be utilized in standard screening and monitoring procedures for evaluating nanomaterial safety.

Keywords::

• 3d explanted cultures
• α-lipoic acid
• dorsal root ganglia
• glutathione
• lipid droplets
• nanotoxicity
• peripheral nervous system
• quantum dots

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no 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. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

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

The authors have no 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. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.