Cytocompatibility of oleic acid modified iron oxide nanoparticles

Abstract

Our long-term goal is to utilize oleic acid-modified iron oxide (OA-Fe3O4) nanoparticles embedded into a monoglyceride matrix for remote drug release utilizing an alternating magnetic field (AMF). However, the toxicological behavior of OA-Fe3O4 nanoparticles when in contact with biological tissues remains unknown. The size, shape, and surface morphology of OA-Fe3O4 nanoparticles prepared in our laboratory were evaluated using SEM and TEM. These data show that the OA-Fe3O4 nanoparticle preparations do not form aggregates and maintain the expected size and shape. We also used HTB-19, a human mammary tumor cell line, to assay the cytocompatibility of OA-Fe3O4 nanoparticles of different sizes (5, 10, 20, and 30 nm) at varying doses (6.25, 12.5, 25, and 50 µg/mL) using CytoTox-Glo™ cytotoxicity kit and phase-contrast inverted microscopy. These results indicate that there is no appreciable cytotoxicity at the lowest (6.25 µg/mL) concentration. Even the highest (50 µg/mL) concentration used in our study show > 75% cell viability. Microscopic morphological assessment performed using phase-contrast inverted microscopy revealed internalization of the nanoparticles and proliferation of cells in the presence of the OA-Fe3O4 nanoparticles. Taken together, our results show that OA-Fe3O4 nanoparticles are a safe and promising biocompatible excipient for drug delivery.