Tuesday, 27 August 2019 13:59

In vitro: Effects of Nanoparticles investigated Featured

Using cell cultures a researcher team from the Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf has investigated, what effects carbon nanoparticles have on cells. The results were published in the journal Scientific Reports.

https://idw-online.de/de/news722437
The use of carbon nanoparticles as a vehicle for the transport of active substances are researched by the pharmaceutical science. In order to be taken into account, it is important to assess possible effects on cells and the whole body.

A team of scientists led by Prof. Dr. Thomas Heinzel from the Institute for Experimental Solid State Physics and Prof. Dr. Rainer Haas from the Clinic for Hematology, Oncology and
Clinical Immunology of the Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf have, together with colleagues of the Department of Chemistry, investigated how CD34+ stem cells react on carbon nanoparticles. For their investigations they used so-called quantum dots made of graphene, semiconducting tiny particles with a size of 3 nanometers. They are formed in two-dimensional layers of carbon hexagonal rings. The researcher brought them into blood stem cells (CD34+) and incubated the cells for 36 hours. Thereafter, a gene expression analysis was erformed.

The scientists found out that only one of the 20,800 gene expressions, which is for the selenoprotein w1 (SEPW1), was influenced by the carbon nanoparticles. An additional meta analysis showed that the expression of 1171 genes had been only weakly influenced.

The researchers interpret their findings to mean that quantum Dots of 3 nanometers size hardly affect the CD34+ cells, which makes it suitable for an application as carriers for e.g. fluorescent labels. The nanoparticles are stored in lysosomes inside the cells. Such an encapsulation of the nanoparticles in the lysosomes ensures that the particles are safely stored for at least a few days and do not damage the cell, according to Prof. Heinzel in the current press release.

However, further investigations still have to be carried out.

Original publication:
Stefan Fasbender, Lisa Zimmermann, Ron-Patrick Cadeddu, Martina Luysberg, Bastian Moll, Christoph Janiak, Thomas Heinzel & Rainer Haas, The Low Toxicity of Graphene Quantum Dots is Reflected by Marginal Gene Expression Changes of Primary Human Hematopoietic Stem Cells, Scientific Reports (2019) 9:12028. DOI: 10,1038/s41598-019-48567-6

Source:
https://idw-online.de/de/news722437

about blood stem cells:
https://www.drk-haemotherapie.de/data/ausgabe_3/beitraege/haematopoetische_stammzelltransplantation_03_04.pdf