Evaluation of quantum dot conjugated antibodies for immunofluorescent labelling of cellular targets

• Jennifer E. Francis,
• David Mason and
• Raphaël Lévy

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1238–1249, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.125

• 75 cm2 flask at 37 °C with 5% CO2, minimum essential media (MEM, Life Technologies, UK) supplemented with 10% (v/v) foetal calf serum (FCS), and 1% non-essential amino acids (NEAA). Cells were split 1,000,000 cells/mL when ≥80% confluent with trypsin-EDTA. Rat mammary (Rama) 27 fibroblasts were

• using a Qdot 625 streptavidin (yellow) conjugate (Qdot-Streptavidin) and biotinylated (blue) primary antibody (D). Scale bar is 10 nm. Specific labelling of fibronectin with Qdots. Fixed rat mammary (Rama) 27 fibroblasts were dual labelled with green Alexa Fluor 488 (A) and a red Qdot 625 (B) to produce

• Bulinkski from Colombia University for the TC7 3xGFP cells and also appreciation to Professor Philip Rudland from University of Liverpool for supplying the rat mammary (Rama) 27 fibroblasts. We would like to acknowledge and thank the Liverpool Centre for Cell Imaging (CCI) for training and access to

Nano-engineered skin mesenchymal stem cells: potential vehicles for tumour-targeted quantum-dot delivery

• Liga Saulite,
• Dominyka Dapkute,
• Karlis Pleiko,
• Ineta Popena,
• Simona Steponkiene,
• Ricardas Rotomskis and
• Una Riekstina

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1218–1230, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.123

• , which could be a desirable event in targeted tumour therapy. The optimal uptake conditions for NPs could depend on the particle size, surface modifications, protein corona, and recipient cell line. Previous studies have suggested the incubation of NIH3T3 mouse fibroblasts with 16 nM QDs for 6 h as the

Uptake of the proteins HTRA1 and HTRA2 by cells mediated by calcium phosphate nanoparticles

• Olga Rotan,
• Katharina N. Severin,
• Simon Pöpsel,
• Alexander Peetsch,
• Melisa Merdanovic,
• Michael Ehrmann and
• Matthias Epple

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 381–393, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.40

• this protein family in humans are HTRA1 and HTRA2 that are both involved in tumour suppression and in the control of proliferation, migration, and neurodegeneration [31]. The HTRA1 gene (previously termed PRSS11) was initially identified in human fibroblasts [32]. Numerous experimental findings suggest

Nano- and microstructured materials for in vitro studies of the physiology of vascular cells

• Alexandra M. Greiner,
• Adria Sales,
• Hao Chen,
• Sarah A. Biela,
• Dieter Kaufmann and
• Ralf Kemkemer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1620–1641, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.155

• distance-dependence for focal contact formation and cell adhesion shown previously for other cell types (e.g., MC3T3-osteoblasts, REF52-fibroblasts, 3T3-fibroblasts, and B16-melanocytes [251]) hold also true for the two vascular cell types (ECs and SMCs) investigated [255]. A distance-dependent behavior

Multiwalled carbon nanotube hybrids as MRI contrast agents

• Nikodem Kuźnik and
• Mateusz M. Tomczyk

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1086–1103, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.102

• period, is consistent with the abovementioned toxicity studies. Cytotoxicity and hemolysis Cytotoxicity of the nanohybrids was studied on various cell types (HeLa, HEK 293, human prostate cancer cells PC3, fibroblasts and others) and a general conclusion is the dose-dependent trend. However, the

• relations are more complicated (Table 2). Maciejewska investigated oMWCNTs with different iron content (3.9, 5.8 and 12.4% Fe (m/m)) and found that HeLa cells were more viable upon treatment with the iron-poorest oMWCNT, while fibroblasts expressed the highest viability in the case of nanotubes with medium

Unraveling the neurotoxicity of titanium dioxide nanoparticles: focusing on molecular mechanisms

• Bin Song,
• Yanli Zhang,
• Jia Liu,
• Xiaoli Feng,
• Ting Zhou and
• Longquan Shao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 645–654, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.57

• death. Autophagy has been determined to be a potential mechanism of nanotoxicity [9][66]. However, few studies have described the relationship between neurotoxicity and nanomaterials. It was revealed that gold nanoparticles can increase the levels of autophagy-related proteins in human lung fibroblasts

Nanostructured surfaces by supramolecular self-assembly of linear oligosilsesquioxanes with biocompatible side groups

• Maria Nowacka,
• Anna Kowalewska and
• Tomasz Makowski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2377–2387, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.244

• underlying matrix. For example, surfaces carrying COOH groups were applied for studies on the effect of surface wettability on protein adsorption and adhesion of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and HeLa cells [3], human fibroblasts [14], human mesenchymal stem cells [15][22], corneal

• epithelial cells [23], fibroblasts [24], myoblasts [25] and endothelial cells [26]. Substrates with COOH groups were also used to elucidate the role of chemistry-dependent differences in cell differentiation owing to specific binding to proteins adsorbed on the surface [25][27][28]. Well-defined substrates

Synthesis, characterization and in vitro effects of 7 nm alloyed silver–gold nanoparticles

• Simon Ristig,
• Svitlana Chernousova,
• Wolfgang Meyer-Zaika and
• Matthias Epple

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1212–1220, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.124

• reduces the amount of released silver ions. In a comparable toxicity study with laser-generated alloyed Ag/Au nanoparticles on cumulus-oocyte complexes and spermatozoa [38] and human gingival fibroblasts [39], a passivating effect of gold on silver was reported. In contrast to these studies, the toxicity

• complexes and spermatozoa, the nanoparticles showed toxic effects when the molar silver content was higher than 50%. Still, the effect was lower than the expected toxicity based on the silver content [38]. Similar results were found for human gingival fibroblasts and S. aureus [25]. For our investigations

Tattoo ink nanoparticles in skin tissue and fibroblasts

• Colin A. Grant,
• Peter C. Twigg,
• Richard Baker and
• Desmond J. Tobin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1183–1191, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.120

• culture fibroblasts in diluted tattoo ink to explore both the immediate impact of ink pigment on cell viability and also to observe the interaction between particles and the cells. Keywords: atomic force microscopy (AFM); dermis; nanoparticles; skin; tattoo ink; Introduction The act of tattooing has

• numbers of tattoo parlours opening for business. However, despite this striking cultural shift we know very little about the biochemical reactivity of ink particles with skin cells and tissues (including some of the key constituent components, e.g., fibroblasts and associated collagen fibrillar networks

• repaired through the action of fibroblasts, ultimately laying down scar tissue. Over long periods of time the tattoo ink particles can be found to gradually move to the deeper dermis (i.e., reticular dermis), which gives the tattoo a faded and blurred appearance. Importantly, after tattoo ink insertion

Silica micro/nanospheres for theranostics: from bimodal MRI and fluorescent imaging probes to cancer therapy

• Shanka Walia and
• Amitabha Acharya

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 546–558, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.57

• was more prominent than that of LSMO@SiF@Si-w, which was attributed to the fact that the latter contains less fluorescein. To check the biocompatibility of these nanocomposites, in vitro studies were carried out on HeLa cells and primary skin fibroblasts. The studies suggested that the HeLa cells

• showed higher viability (ca. 90%) compared to the fibroblasts cells (ca. 80%). Further, in case of the pancreatic islets (PIs) the cell viability was found to be more than 87%. Similarly, van Schooneveld et al. [18] reported a procedure for the synthesis of a trimodal contrast agent composed of gold

• shift to 580 nm in the case of Fe3O4@SiO2 NPs. The saturation magnetization value of the magnetic nanoparticles was observed to be 21 emu/g. The biocompatibility of these NPs was determined by incubating them with the human fibroblasts cells for which a cell viability of about 90% was observed even

Oxygen-plasma-modified biomimetic nanofibrous scaffolds for enhanced compatibility of cardiovascular implants

• Anna Maria Pappa,
• Varvara Karagkiozaki,
• Silke Krol,
• Spyros Kassavetis,
• Dimitris Konstantinou,
• Charalampos Pitsalidis,
• Lazaros Tzounis,
• Nikos Pliatsikas and
• Stergios Logothetidis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 254–262, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.24

• the scaffold, which is favorable for the cells, as it provides more space (micropores) between the fibers to elongate and spread [21]. This is highly preferable for certain cell types which exhibit the tendency to spread out and form an elongated cell body, such as the fibroblasts [26], which were

• present reference study were mouse fibroblasts (L929). In Figure 4a and Figure 4b, the MTT results of the cytotoxicity levels of all the samples (i.e., control group, aluminum foil, untreated scaffold and mildly treated scaffold) in direct contact with the L929s are given. According to the findings, all

• , which is more apparent in the case of the treated samples indicates the growth and proliferation of the cells in their new microenvironment. Cell adhesion and proliferation According to Figure 4c, fibroblasts seemed to be securely attached and spread on the surface, regardless of the surface treatments

Increasing throughput of AFM-based single cell adhesion measurements through multisubstrate surfaces

• Miao Yu,
• Nico Strohmeyer,
• Jinghe Wang,
• Daniel J. Müller and
• Jonne Helenius

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 157–166, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.15

• allowed for experiments that previously were not feasible. Since the masks are economical and versatile, they can aid in the improvement of various assays. Keywords: atomic force microscopy; cell adhesion; collagen I; fibroblasts; fibronectin; HeLa; laminin; MDCK; PC3; single cell assay; single cell

• kidney fibroblasts were maintained in DMEM GlutaMAX supplemented with 10% (v/v) FCS; MDCK cells were maintained in MEM supplemented with 5% FCS. All media also contained 100 units/mL penicillin and 100 µg/mL streptomycin (Gibco-Life technologies). Protein functionalization of PDMS masks and the AFM

• indicate mean force and standard deviation. Cell line-dependent adhesion of ECM proteins. (A) Depiction of the SCFS experimental setup, where the adhesion of a ConA bound cell is measured to different protein-coated surfaces. Graphs of the adhesion forces measured for PC3 (B), mouse fibroblasts (C), MDCK

Functionalized polystyrene nanoparticles as a platform for studying bio–nano interactions

• Cornelia Loos,
• Tatiana Syrovets,
• Anna Musyanovych,
• Volker Mailänder,
• Katharina Landfester,
• G. Ulrich Nienhaus and
• Thomas Simmet

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2403–2412, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.250

• over positively charged ones may be unique. Thus, non-phagocytic cells, such as fibroblasts and endothelial cells, took up significantly more positively charged Au NPs than negatively charged Au NPs [47]. This emphasizes that the uptake of nanoparticles is highly cell type-dependent and the expression

Carbon nano-onions (multi-layer fullerenes): chemistry and applications

• Juergen Bartelmess and
• Silvia Giordani

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1980–1998, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.207

• with biomolecules was reported by the groups of Plonska-Brzezinska, Simionescu and Echegoyen in 2010 [36]. In the first step, small CNOs (6–8 shells) were oxidized by using conc. H2SO4/HNO3 and subsequently functionalized with PEG to study their cytotoxicity on rat dermal fibroblasts. The result was

• large CNOs produced by an underwater carbon-arc discharge, as well as of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCTNs) on human skin fibroblasts and found more adverse effects upon exposure to MWCNTs as compared to CNOs. However, CNOs were also found to cause negative effects on the studied cell cultures. The

• first report investigating the toxicity of small CNOs dates back to 2010, when Echegoyen et al. investigated the biocompatibility of PEGylated CNOs by exposing rat dermal fibroblasts to different CNO concentrations [37]. The authors could show almost 100% viability of cells for concentrations of 30 and

PVP-coated, negatively charged silver nanoparticles: A multi-center study of their physicochemical characteristics, cell culture and in vivo experiments

• Sebastian Ahlberg,
• Alexandra Antonopulos,
• Jörg Diendorf,
• Ralf Dringen,
• Matthias Epple,
• Rebekka Flöck,
• Wolfgang Goedecke,
• Christina Graf,
• Nadine Haberl,
• Jens Helmlinger,
• Fabian Herzog,
• Frederike Heuer,
• Stephanie Hirn,
• Christian Johannes,
• Stefanie Kittler,
• Manfred Köller,
• Katrin Korn,
• Wolfgang G. Kreyling,
• Fritz Krombach,
• Jürgen Lademann,
• Kateryna Loza,
• Eva M. Luther,
• Marcelina Malissek,
• Martina C. Meinke,
• Daniel Nordmeyer,
• Anne Pailliart,
• Jörg Raabe,
• Fiorenza Rancan,
• Barbara Rothen-Rutishauser,
• Eckart Rühl,
• Carsten Schleh,
• Andreas Seibel,
• Christina Sengstock,
• Lennart Treuel,
• Annika Vogt,
• Katrin Weber and
• Reinhard Zellner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1944–1965, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.205

• nucleus is constrained by the pore dimension of the nucleus, because 5 nm gold nanoparticles entered the cell nucleus of human fibroblasts whereas particles larger than 30 nm were retained in the cytoplasm [91]. The silver nanoparticles used in our study have a size of 70 nm and thus, it is understandable

• nanoparticles The increasing use of silver in the form of nanoparticles raises the question whether these compounds are potentially harmful to the health of living organisms in terms of genotoxicity. Experiments were therefore also carried out with Chinese hamster fibroblasts to explore the genotoxic effects of

Carbon-based smart nanomaterials in biomedicine and neuroengineering

• Antonina M. Monaco and
• Michele Giugliano

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1849–1863, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.196

• interfacing cardiomyocytes with CNTs accelerates cells maturation, resulting in an increased expression of mature phenotype-related genes. Lin and colleagues [64] studied in vitro how pristine SWCNTs dispersed in an extracellular medium can affect the viability of vascular adventitial fibroblasts and their

Biocompatibility of cerium dioxide and silicon dioxide nanoparticles with endothelial cells

• Claudia Strobel,
• Martin Förster and
• Ingrid Hilger

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1795–1807, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.190

• from the vein of an umbilical cord, the presence of fibroblasts cannot be excluded [30]. Moreover, primary cells are known to change their phenotype with increasing cultivation time [31]. In this context, the assessment of the endothelial phenotype with respect to cultivation time was of interest. The

• ) and nearly no CD90+ cells (fibroblasts, Figure 1b). vWF and CD31 are known to be endothelial [32] and CD90 is a fibroblast cell type specific marker [33]. The experiment was successfully validated using HUVEC from another supplier (provitro GmbH, Germany; Figure 1). Reactivity of CD90 antibody against

• CD90+ human fibroblasts (BJ-cells) was corroborated in a previous experiment (≥99% CD90+ were detected, data not shown). It can be concluded that the HUVEC culture was pure with no alterations of the endothelial phenotype during the experimental setup. This means that the obtained results of the

Different endocytotic uptake mechanisms for nanoparticles in epithelial cells and macrophages

• Dagmar A. Kuhn,
• Dimitri Vanhecke,
• Benjamin Michen,
• Fabian Blank,
• Peter Gehr,
• Alke Petri-Fink and
• Barbara Rothen-Rutishauser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1625–1636, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.174

• . Many cell types such as the capillary endothelium, type I epithelial cells, muscle cells as well as fibroblasts, exhibit caveolin-mediated endocytosis, which occurs at the site of the lipid rafts [20][26]. These rafts are plasma membrane regions (subdomains), which consist of glycosphingolipids and

• observed in several cell types including capillary endothelium, type I alveolar epithelial cells, smooth muscle cells and fibroblasts [20]. Therefore, this result supports the cell type specific mechanism of this uptake. The colocalization of clathrin heavy chain and the 40 nm PS NP fluorescence in the

Current state of laser synthesis of metal and alloy nanoparticles as ligand-free reference materials for nano-toxicological assays

• Christoph Rehbock,
• Jurij Jakobi,
• Lisa Gamrad,
• Selina van der Meer,
• Daniela Tiedemann,
• Ulrike Taylor,
• Wilfried Kues,
• Detlef Rath and
• Stephan Barcikowski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1523–1541, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.165

• nanoparticles in toxicity assays with bacteria as well as mammalian fibroblasts and gametes reveal distinctive correlations between particle composition and toxic effects. Due to the high purity of the material the influence of additional surface ligands could be systematically studied. High purity of these

Protein-coated pH-responsive gold nanoparticles: Microwave-assisted synthesis and surface charge-dependent anticancer activity

• Dickson Joseph,
• Nisha Tyagi,
• Christian Geckeler and
• Kurt E.Geckeler

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1452–1462, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.158

• targeted drug and gene delivery [29][30][31]. Hence, MTT assays were used to study the cell viabilities of fibroblasts and cancer cells after treatment with AuNPs to check the cytotoxicity and the anticancer properties of the AuNPs for their future biomedical applications. Results and Discussion Synthesis

• also observed in the UV–vis studies for the blank proteins (Figure S3, Supporting Information File 1). Cell viability after exposure to AuNPs To investigate the cell viability after the exposure to AuNPs, MTT assays were conducted with mouse embryonic fibroblasts (NIH-3T3) by treating them with AuNPs

• -AuNPs, BHG-AuNPs and BGG-AuNPs. All of these AuNPs had zeta potentials close to zero; hence their IC50 values were also similar. The IC50 values of the different protein-coated AuNPs followed the order OVA > BSA > BHG > LYS > BGG > HIS for the NIH-3T3 fibroblasts. To study further the role of the

Influence of the PDMS substrate stiffness on the adhesion of Acanthamoeba castellanii

• Sören B. Gutekunst,
• Carsten Grabosch,
• Alexander Kovalev,
• Stanislav N. Gorb and
• Christine Selhuber-Unkel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1393–1398, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.152

• ; Introduction The adhesion of many cell types, including fibroblasts, myocytes, and neurons, depends on the mechanical properties of the cellular microenvironment [1][2][3]. In particular, cells prefer to adhere to materials, which have mechanical properties similar to the ones found in their natural biological

The softening of human bladder cancer cells happens at an early stage of the malignancy process

• Jorge R. Ramos,
• Joanna Pabijan,
• Ricardo Garcia and
• Malgorzata Lekka

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 447–457, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.52

• filaments with the use of different types of cytochalasin, Rotsch and Radmacher have reported a decrease of the Young’s modulus of fibroblasts [16]. Similar findings regarding the role of actin filaments have been reported in other types of cells such as lymphocyte and Jurkat cells [19]. The role of the

• dynamically different types of MT configurations (unstable and stable) and intermediate filaments (IF), which all act to impart a distinct cellular type of transient metastability. On the other hand, it has been reported that the disassembly of the MT of fibroblasts by using colchicine and colcemide does not

Cytotoxic and proinflammatory effects of PVP-coated silver nanoparticles after intratracheal instillation in rats

• Nadine Haberl,
• Stephanie Hirn,
• Alexander Wenk,
• Jörg Diendorf,
• Matthias Epple,
• Blair D. Johnston,
• Fritz Krombach,
• Wolfgang G. Kreyling and
• Carsten Schleh

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 933–940, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.105

• oxygen species (ROS) in human lung fibroblasts in a dose-dependent manner [19]. In contrast, very little is known about the cytotoxic and proinflammatory effects of AgNP in the respiratory system in vivo [20]. Intratracheal instillation of slightly agglomerated AgNP in mice resulted in progressively

Nanolesions induced by heavy ions in human tissues: Experimental and theoretical studies

• Marcus Bleicher,
• Lucas Burigo,
• Marco Durante,
• Maren Herrlitz,
• Michael Krämer,
• Igor Mishustin,
• Iris Müller,
• Francesco Natale,
• Igor Pshenichnov,
• Stefan Schramm,
• Gisela Taucher-Scholz and
• Cathrin Wälzlein

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 556–563, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.64

• fibroblasts. Cells were irradiated with Au ions (energy: 8 MeV/n, linear energy transfer (LET): 13000 keV/μm; fluence: 3·106 ions/cm2) at a low angle and fixed after 1 h. H4K16ac (green) is increased at damage sites. DNA damage is shown by γH2AX staining (red). DNA is counterstained with ToPro3 (blue). From