237 - Cell-based analysis of the immune and antioxidant response of the nanocarrier β-cyclodextrin conjugated with cellulose nanocrystals

Abstract

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) have great potential in many areas of research, applications and future commercialization prospects. Recently, CNCs have emerged as attractive candidates for biomedical applications such as drug and gene delivery systems. Cyclodextrins (CD) are cyclic oligosaccharides with the unique ability to form inclusion complexes with drug molecules and as such, they have been commonly employed as materials in nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems. The conjugation of CNCs with β-CD has been previously reported for drug delivery applications but there are no studies on any potential immunological response of the surface modified CNCs with β-CD. The current study examined the potential immune and antioxidant response induced by CNCs grafted with β-cyclodextrin (CNCs-β-CD) in human monocyte cell line (THP-1) and mouse macrophage-like cell line (J774A.1) We analyzed the secretion of the pro-inflammatory cytokine, interleukin 1β (IL-1β), by ELISA and mitochondria-derived reactive oxygen species (ROS) using fluorescence cell imaging as well as examining examined the intracellular levels of proteins involved in the immune and antioxidant response by immunoblotting. Our results indicated neither a dramatic increase in the IL-1β secretion nor in the mitochondria derived ROS. We also observed no changes in the intracellular antioxidant response in THP-1 cells treated with different concentrations of CNCs-β-CD. Overall, CNCs-β-CD is non-immunogenic and does not induce an increased antioxidant response under the conditions tested and hence has the potential to be used as a drug delivery carrier.