Cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of citric acid coated magnetite/maghemite nanoparticles in human lung cancer cells

Abstract

Magnetic nanoparticles have been a subject of great interest in the field of biomedical engineering due to their unique magnetic and physical properties. These particles have shown potential for various applications such as drug delivery, hyperthermia, magnetic resonance imaging contrast enhancement, and magnetic-activated sorting of cells. Given the diversity of biological systems and the particular characteristics of each cell line, it is necessary to evaluate the interaction of the nanoparticles under study and each cell line where they are to be tested. In this work we evaluate the uptake, toxicity and genotoxicity of a well characterized citric acid coated magnetite/ maghemite nanoparticles (MNP) in human lung cancer cells (A549 line). It was shown that one hour exposure to MNP with a mean diameter of 13.3(24) nm and a saturation magnetization of 57.6(4) kA m/kg, does not induce changes in cell viability for concentrations from 50 to 400 µgFe/mL. The incorporation of the material was verified through TEM at intermediate points (100 µgFe/mL) and uptake was quantified by VSM, obtaining 4.2(11) pgFe/cell for the maximum concentration treatment (400 µgFe/mL). Similarly, no significant cytotoxic or geno- toxic changes were observed, in relation to the interaction kinetics (1 h to 23 h) during a complete cell cycle.