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Interactions of Nanosized Particles with Living Cells and Subcellular Structures

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A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Biophysics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2022) | Viewed by 18731

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Oleg Lunov

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Guest Editor

Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, 182 00 Prague, Czech Republic
Interests: nanotoxicology; cell biophysics; cell mechanics; molecular biology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Despite persistent hurdles, the development of nanoparticles has led to the development of nano-based medicines for a broad range of clinical applications. However, recent years have been faced with a number of nanomaterial withdrawals. The field has been criticized for failing to implement the clinical translation of nano-based medicines. Emerging evidence suggests that we still understand the mechanisms by which nanomaterials act at the cellular and sub-cellular levels poorly. Better understanding of fundamental signaling events that are modified by nanomaterials is essential to overcome the clinical problems with nanoparticles. Therefore, in this Special Issue, we invite authors to contribute with studies that critically revisit mechanisms of nanomaterial–cell interactions and challenges related to their identification. We aim to achieve a timely update of current views on nanomaterial–cell interactions, potential in vitro models and platforms used in bio-nano interaction research, and critically assess their strengths and limitations.

We invite the submission of manuscripts (both original research manuscripts and reviews) that not only demonstrate the success of nano-based medicines, but also critically analyse pitfalls and challenges in the field. Highlighting problems in the field will certainly create a basis for the future rational design of nanomaterials and improve their clinical translation.

We look forward to reading your contributions.

Dr. Oleg Lunov
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

nanoparticles
nanomaterials
cytotoxicity
adverse drug reactions
cell signaling
biotechnology
nano-bio interactions

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

Jump to: Review

20 pages, 3657 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Interaction between Nanoparticles, Membranes and Proteins: A Surface Plasmon Resonance Study

by Erenildo Ferreira de Macedo, Nivia Salles Santos, Lucca Silva Nascimento, Raphaël Mathey, Sophie Brenet, Matheus Sacilotto de Moura, Yanxia Hou and Dayane Batista Tada

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(1), 591; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms24010591 - 29 Dec 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1695

Abstract

Regardless of the promising use of nanoparticles (NPs) in biomedical applications, several toxic effects have increased the concerns about the safety of these nanomaterials. Although the pathways for NPs toxicity are diverse and dependent upon many parameters such as the nature of the nanoparticle and the biochemical environment, numerous studies have provided evidence that direct contact between NPs and biomolecules or cell membranes leads to cell inactivation or damage and may be a primary mechanism for cytotoxicity. In such a context, this work focused on developing a fast and accurate method to characterize the interaction between NPs, proteins and lipidic membranes by surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRi) technique. The interaction of gold NPs with mimetic membranes was evaluated by monitoring the variation of reflectivity after several consecutive gold NPs injections on the lipidic membranes prepared on the SPRi biochip. The interaction on the membranes with varied lipidic composition was compared regarding the total surface concentration density of gold NPs adsorbed on them. Then, the interaction of gold and silver NPs with blood proteins was analyzed regarding their kinetic profile of the association/dissociation and dissociation constants (k_off). The surface concentration density on the membrane composed of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-glycero-3-phosphocholine and cholesterol (POPC/cholesterol) was 2.5 times higher than the value found after the injections of gold NPs on POPC only or with dimethyldioctadecylammonium (POPC/DDAB). Regarding the proteins, gold NPs showed preferential binding to fibrinogen resulting in a value of the variation of reflectivity that was 8 times higher than the value found for the other proteins. Differently, silver NPs showed similar interaction on all the tested proteins but with a variation of reflectivity on immunoglobulin G (IgG) 2 times higher than the value found for the other tested proteins. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Interactions of Nanosized Particles with Living Cells and Subcellular Structures)

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15 pages, 2912 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Interactions of Nanoparticles with Macrophages and Feasibility of Drug Delivery for Asthma

by Sung Hun Kang, Yoo Seob Shin, Dong-Hyun Lee, Il Seok Park, Sung Kyun Kim, DongHun Ryu, YongKeun Park, Soo-Hwan Byun, Jeong-Hee Choi and Seok Jin Hong

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(3), 1622; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms23031622 - 30 Jan 2022

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4762

Abstract

Understanding the interaction between nanoparticles and immune cells is essential for the evaluation of nanotoxicity and development of nanomedicines. However, to date, there is little data on the membrane microstructure and biochemical changes in nanoparticle-loaded immune cells. In this study, we observed the microstructure of nanoparticle-loaded macrophages and changes in lipid droplets using holotomography analysis. Quantitatively analyzing the refractive index distribution of nanoparticle-loaded macrophages, we identified the interactions between nanoparticles and macrophages. The results showed that, when nanoparticles were phagocytized by macrophages, the number of lipid droplets and cell volume increased. The volume and mass of the lipid droplets slightly increased, owing to the absorption of nanoparticles. Meanwhile, the number of lipid droplets increased more conspicuously than the other factors. Furthermore, alveolar macrophages are involved in the development and progression of asthma. Studies have shown that macrophages play an essential role in the maintenance of asthma-related inflammation and tissue damage, suggesting that macrophage cells may be applied to asthma target delivery strategies. Therefore, we investigated the target delivery efficiency of gold nanoparticle-loaded macrophages at the biodistribution level, using an ovalbumin-induced asthma mouse model. Normal and severe asthma models were selected to determine the difference in the level of inflammation in the lung. Consequently, macrophages had increased mobility in models of severe asthma, compared to those of normal asthma disease. In this regard, the detection of observable differences in nanoparticle-loaded macrophages may be of primary interest, as an essential endpoint analysis for investigating nanomedical applications and immunotheragnostic strategies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Interactions of Nanosized Particles with Living Cells and Subcellular Structures)

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20 pages, 6290 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fine Particulate Matter-Induced Oxidative Stress Mediated by UVA-Visible Light Leads to Keratinocyte Damage

by Krystian Mokrzyński, Olga Krzysztyńska-Kuleta, Marcin Zawrotniak, Michał Sarna and Tadeusz Sarna

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(19), 10645; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms221910645 - 30 Sep 2021

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2986

Abstract

The human skin is exposed to various environmental factors including solar radiation and ambient air pollutants. Although, due to its physical and biological properties, the skin efficiently protects the body against the harm of environmental factors, their excessive levels and possible synergistic action may lead to harmful effects. Among particulate matter present in ambient air pollutants, PM_2.5 is of particular importance for it can penetrate both disrupted and intact skin, causing adverse effects to skin tissue. Although certain components of PM_2.5 can exhibit photochemical activity, only a limited amount of data regarding the interaction of PM_2.5 with light and its effect on skin tissue are available. This study focused on light-induced toxicity in cultured human keratinocytes, which was mediated by PM_2.5 obtained in different seasons. Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) were employed to determine sizes of the particles. The ability of PM_2.5 to photogenerate free radicals and singlet oxygen was studied using EPR spin-trapping and time-resolved singlet oxygen phosphorescence, respectively. Solar simulator with selected filters was used as light source for cell treatment to model environmental lightning conditions. Cytotoxicity of photoexcited PM_2.5 was analyzed using MTT assay, PI staining and flow cytometry, and the apoptotic pathway was further examined using Caspase-3/7 assay and RT-PCR. Iodometric assay and JC-10 assay were used to investigate damage to cell lipids and mitochondria. Light-excited PM_2.5 were found to generate free radicals and singlet oxygen in season-dependent manner. HaCaT cells containing PM_2.5 and irradiated with UV-Vis exhibited oxidative stress features–increased peroxidation of intracellular lipids, decrease of mitochondrial membrane potential, enhanced expression of oxidative stress related genes and apoptotic cell death. The data indicate that sunlight can significantly increase PM_2.5-mediated toxicity in skin cells. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Interactions of Nanosized Particles with Living Cells and Subcellular Structures)

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Review

Jump to: Research

33 pages, 12892 KiB

Open AccessReview

Novel Tumor-Targeting Nanoparticles for Cancer Treatment—A Review

by Adelina-Gabriela Niculescu and Alexandru Mihai Grumezescu

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(9), 5253; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms23095253 - 08 May 2022

Cited by 37 | Viewed by 4640

Abstract

Being one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide, cancer represents an ongoing interdisciplinary challenge for the scientific community. As currently used treatments may face limitations in terms of both efficiency and adverse effects, continuous research has been directed towards overcoming existing challenges and finding safer specific alternatives. In particular, increasing interest has been gathered around integrating nanotechnology in cancer management and subsequentially developing various tumor-targeting nanoparticles for cancer applications. In this respect, the present paper briefly describes the most used cancer treatments in clinical practice to set a reference framework for recent research findings, further focusing on the novel developments in the field. More specifically, this review elaborates on the top recent studies concerning various nanomaterials (i.e., carbon-based, metal-based, liposomes, cubosomes, lipid-based, polymer-based, micelles, virus-based, exosomes, and cell membrane-coated nanomaterials) that show promising potential in different cancer applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Interactions of Nanosized Particles with Living Cells and Subcellular Structures)

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30 pages, 8110 KiB

Open AccessReview

Cancer-Nano-Interaction: From Cellular Uptake to Mechanobiological Responses

by Ahmad Sohrabi Kashani and Muthukumaran Packirisamy

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(17), 9587; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms22179587 - 03 Sep 2021

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 3818

Abstract

With the advancement of nanotechnology, the nano-bio-interaction field has emerged. It is essential to enhance our understanding of nano-bio-interaction in different aspects to design nanomedicines and improve their efficacy for therapeutic and diagnostic applications. Many researchers have extensively studied the toxicological responses of cancer cells to nano-bio-interaction, while their mechanobiological responses have been less investigated. The mechanobiological properties of cells such as elasticity and adhesion play vital roles in cellular functions and cancer progression. Many studies have noticed the impacts of cellular uptake on the structural organization of cells and, in return, the mechanobiology of human cells. Mechanobiological changes induced by the interactions of nanomaterials and cells could alter cellular functions and influence cancer progression. Hence, in addition to biological responses, the possible mechanobiological responses of treated cells should be monitored as a standard methodology to evaluate the efficiency of nanomedicines. Studying the cancer-nano-interaction in the context of cell mechanics takes our knowledge one step closer to designing safe and intelligent nanomedicines. In this review, we briefly discuss how the characteristic properties of nanoparticles influence cellular uptake. Then, we provide insight into the mechanobiological responses that may occur during the nano-bio-interactions, and finally, the important measurement techniques for the mechanobiological characterizations of cells are summarized and compared. Understanding the unknown mechanobiological responses to nano-bio-interaction will help with developing the application of nanoparticles to modulate cell mechanics for controlling cancer progression. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Interactions of Nanosized Particles with Living Cells and Subcellular Structures)

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