Abstract
Diatomite is a natural fossil material of sedimentary origin, constituted by fragments of diatom siliceous skeletons. In this preliminary work, the properties of diatomite nanoparticles as potential system for the delivery of drugs in cancer cells were exploited. A purification procedure, based on thermal treatments in strong acid solutions, was used to remove inorganic and organic impurities from diatomite and to make them a safe material for medical applications. The micrometric diatomite powder was reduced in nanoparticles by mechanical crushing, sonication, and filtering. Morphological analysis performed by dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy reveals a particles size included between 100 and 300 nm. Diatomite nanoparticles were functionalized by 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane and labeled by tetramethylrhodamine isothiocyanate. Different concentrations of chemically modified nanoparticles were incubated with cancer cells and confocal microscopy was performed. Imaging analysis showed an efficient cellular uptake and homogeneous distribution of nanoparticles in cytoplasm and nucleus, thus suggesting their potentiality as nanocarriers for drug delivery.PACS87.85.J81.05.Rm; 61.46. + w
Highlights
Modern medicine has been revolutionized by the use of micro/nanocarriers that, acting theoretically as ‘magic bullets’ [1], operate in site-specific delivery mechanism to spare normal cells and tissues
Diatomite nanoparticles (DNPs) with a diameter lower than 300 nm were prepared by mechanical crushing, sonication, and filtering of micrometric diatomite powder
Characterization of diatomite nanoparticles Size and surface charge of purified diatomite nanoparticles dispersed in water were determined by dynamic light scattering (DLS)
Summary
Modern medicine has been revolutionized by the use of micro/nanocarriers that, acting theoretically as ‘magic bullets’ [1], operate in site-specific delivery mechanism to spare normal cells and tissues. A kind of natural microcarriers developed for innovative drug delivery is represented by diatomite silica microparticles [2]. Diatomite is a fossil material of sedimentary origin formed by fragments of diatom skeletons, called frustules. Single-cell photosynthetic algae largely diffused in aquatic environments, are mainly constituted by amorphous silica and are characterized by a specific surface area up to 200 m2/g [3]. There are different kinds of diatoms (about 110,000 species) varying in size (from 2 μm to 2 mm) and morphology [4]. Results demonstrated effective cellular uptake of nanoparticles and highlighted their potentiality in nanomedicine as carriers able to improve drug delivery
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