Study on cytotoxicity, cellular uptake and elimination of rare-earth-doped upconversion nanoparticles in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells

The growing use of rare-earth doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) has caused increasing concern about their biosafety. Here, to understand the toxicity of UCNPs and their mechanism in HepG2 cells, we systematically study the cytotoxicity, uptake and elimination behaviors of three types of UCNPs combined multiple cytotoxicity evaluation means with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) detection. Sodium yttrium fluoride, doped with 18% (molar ratio) ytterbium and 2% erbium (NaYF₄: Yb³⁺, Er³⁺) was selected as the model UCNPs with two sizes (35 and 55 nm), and the poly(acrylic acid) and polyethylenimine were selected as the representatives of negative and positive surface coating of UCNPs, respectively. UCNPs were found to induce cytotoxicity in time- and dose-dependent manners, which might be mediated by reactive oxygen species generation and oxidative stress. Apoptosis, inflammation, and metabolic process were enhanced after cells exposed to 200 mg/L UCNPs for 48 h. Increase in the protein levels of cleaved caspased-9, cleaved caspase-3 and Bax and decrease in the anti-apoptotic protein, Bcl-2 suggested that the mitochondria mediated pathway was involved in UCNP-induced apoptosis. With the aid of ICP-MS, it demonstrated that the cytotoxicity was associated with internalized amount of UCNPs, which largely relied on their surface properties rather than size in the tested range. By comparing UCNPs with Y³⁺ ions, it demonstrated that NPs properties played a nonnegligible role in the cytotoxicity of UCNPs. These findings provide new insights for fundamental understanding of cytotoxicity of UCNPs and may contribute to more rational use of these materials in the future.

Dispersion stability and biocompatibility of four ligand-exchanged NaYF4: Yb, Er upconversion nanoparticles

Surface modification to obtain high dispersion stability and biocompatibility is a key factor for bio-application of upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs). A systematic study of UCNPs modified with four hydrophilic molecules separately, comparing their dispersion stability in biological buffers and cellular biocompatibility is reported here. The results show that carboxyl-functionalized UCNPs (modified by 3,4-dihydrocinnamic acid (DHCA) or poly(monoacryloxyethyl phosphate (MAEP)) with negative surface charge have superior even-distribution in biological buffers compared to amino-functionalized UCNPs (modified by (aminomethyl)phosphonic (AMPA) or (3-Aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES)) with positive surface charge. Subsequent investigation of cellular interactions revealed high levels of non-targeted cellular uptake of the particles modified with either of the three small molecules (AMPA, APTES, DHCA) and high levels of cytotoxicity when used at high concentrations. The particles were seen to be trapped as particle-aggregates within the cellular cytoplasm, leading to reduced cell viability and cell proliferation, along with dysregulation of the cell cycle as assessed by DNA content measurements. The dramatically reduced proportion of cells in G₁ phase and the slightly increased proportion in G₂ phase indicates inhibition of M phase, and the appearance of sub-G₁ phase reflects cell necrosis. In contrast, MAEP-modified UCNPs are bio-friendly with increased dispersion stability in biological buffers, are non-cytotoxic, with negligible levels of non-specific cellular uptake and no effect on the cell cycle at both low and high concentrations. MAEP-modified UCNPs were further functionalized with streptavidin for intracellular microtubule imaging, and showed clear cytoskeletal structures via their upconversion luminescence. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Upconversion nanoparticles (UCNP) are an exciting potential nanomaterial for bio-applications. Their anti-Stokes luminescence makes them especially attractive to be used as imaging probes and thermal therapeutic reagents. Surface modification is the key to achieving stable and compatible hydrophilic-UCNPs. However, the lack of criteria to assess molecular ligands used for ligand exchange of nanoparticles has hampered the development of surface modification, and further limits UCNP's bio-application. Herein, we report a systematic comparative study of modified-UCNPs with four distinct hydrophilic molecules, assessing each particles' colloidal stability in biological buffers and their cellular biocompatibility. The protocol established here can serve as a potential guide for the surface modification of UCNPs in bio-applications.

Cerium and erbium effects on Daphnia magna generations: A multiple endpoints approach

Cerium (Ce, CeCl₃) and Erbium (Er, ErCl₃) are increasingly used in many electronic devices facilitating the alteration of their biogeochemical cycles (e.g. e-waste). Previous surveys stated that their environmental concentrations due to natural or anthropogenic events can reach up to 161 μg/L in ore mine effluent for Ce with a mean water concentration of 0.79 μg/L, and 11.9 μg/L for Er in ore mine effluents with a mean water concentration of 0.004 μg/L. Their potential effects onto aquatic organisms are still relatively unexplored. In this study, long-term multigenerational effects on Daphnia magna were assessed using various exposure times (3, 7, 14, and 21 days) in three generations (F0, F1 and F2). Each generation was exposed to environmental concentrations of Ce and Er (0.54 and 0.43 μg/L, respectively - mean values) and effects included organisms' size, parental reproduction, and survival, determination of reactive oxygen species (ROS), enzymatic activity (superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione S-transferase (GST)), gene expression of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter, and uptake. Results evidenced that chronic multi-generational exposure of daphnids to Ce and Er reduced survival, growth and reproduction, decreasing ROS, SOD and CAT from F0 to F2. Ce reduced the number of generated offsprings after each generation, while Er delayed the time of offsprings emergence, but not their number. ROS, SOD, CAT and GST evidenced that Er is slightly more toxic than Ce. Up- and downregulation of genes was limited, but Ce and Er activated the ABC transporters. Uptake of Ce and Er decreased through exposure time and generations.

Optically Monitoring Mineralization and Demineralization on Photoluminescent Bioactive Nanofibers

Bone regeneration and scaffold degradation do not usually follow the same rate, representing a daunting challenge in bone repair. Toward this end, we propose to use an external field such as light (in particular, a tissue-penetrating near-infrared light) to precisely monitor the degradation of the mineralized scaffold (demineralization) and the formation of apatite mineral (mineralization). Herein, CaTiO3:Yb(3+),Er(3+)@bioactive glass (CaTiO3:Yb(3+),Er(3+)@BG) nanofibers with upconversion (UC) photoluminescence (PL) were synthesized. Such nanofibers are biocompatible and can emit green and red light under 980 nm excitation. The UC PL intensity is quenched during the bone-like apatite formation on the surface of the nanofibers in simulated body fluid; more mineral formation on the nanofibers induces more rapid optical quenching of the UC PL. Furthermore, the quenched UC PL can recover back to its original magnitude when the apatite on the nanofibers is degraded. Our work suggests that it is possible to optically monitor the apatite mineralization and demineralization on the surface of nanofibers used in bone repair.

Mechanism of Biological Compatibility of Water-Soluble Yb3+, Er3+ Codoped NaYF4 Nanoparticles

Water soluble NaYF4 nanocrystals codoped with 20 mol% Yb3+, 2 mol% Er3+ were prepared by a facile solvothermal approach using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as a surfactant. As a potential material for luminescent probes, in votroeffects of upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) on human aenocarcinoma (SGC-7901) cells with different concentrations were observed. These effects range from cell viability, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, AnnexinV-FITC-propidium iodide (PI) apoptosis detection, and cell cycles. Our results demonstrated that the cells treated with UCNPs showed a decrease in cell viability accompanied the decreased MMP and the release of ROS. When treated with 400 µg/mL UCNPs, AnnexinV-FITC-PI apoptosis detection showed the UCNPs induced apoptosis, the cell cycle indicated the UCNPs suppressor cells in the G1 phase obviously, thereby reducing cell activity.