Abstract
Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are widely known as valuable agents for biomedical applications. Recently, MNPs were further suggested to be used for a remote and non-invasive manipulation, where their spatial redistribution or force response in a magnetic field provides a fine-tunable stimulus to a cell. Here, we investigated the properties of two different MNPs and assessed their suitability for spatio-mechanical manipulations: semisynthetic magnetoferritin nanoparticles and fully synthetic ‘nanoflower’-shaped iron oxide nanoparticles. As well as confirming their monodispersity in terms of structure, surface potential, and magnetic response, we monitored the MNP performance in a living cell environment using fluorescence microscopy and asserted their biocompatibility. We then demonstrated facilitated spatial redistribution of magnetoferritin compared to ‘nanoflower’-NPs after microinjection, and a higher magnetic force response of these NPs compared to magnetoferritin inside a cell. Our remote manipulation assays present these tailored magnetic materials as suitable agents for applications in magnetogenetics, biomedicine, or nanomaterial research.
Highlights
Functional magnetic nanoscale particles (MNPs) are widely employed in biotechnology and nanomedicine to study fundamental biological processes as well as to develop enhanced diagnostic and treatment strategies, the most prominent examples being smart drug delivery, contrast enhancement in imaging, magnetic separation of molecules, magnetic particle hyperthermia [1], regenerative medicine concepts [2], and a combination of diagnostics and therapy [3]
Magnetoferritins (MFts) and synomag are two structurally and bio-functionally complementary particles, which were chosen to test their suitability for the manipulation of biological functions inside cells
In case of MFts, the ferritin protein cages served as templates, which were further tailored to feature cytosolic stealth properties as well as to fluoresce for microscopic observation
Summary
Functional magnetic nanoscale particles (MNPs) are widely employed in biotechnology and nanomedicine to study fundamental biological processes as well as to develop enhanced diagnostic and treatment strategies, the most prominent examples being smart drug delivery, contrast enhancement in imaging, magnetic separation of molecules, magnetic particle hyperthermia [1], regenerative medicine concepts [2], and a combination of diagnostics and therapy [3]. For subcellular applications in fundamental studies, their manipulation via magnetic tweezers demonstrated benefit in the study of organelles, proteins, and biomolecules within the cell environment [4,5]. Iron oxide nanoparticles (NPs) are one of the most popular compounds for biomagnetics studies due to their versatile applicability and biocompatibility [6,7,8,9]. Interest in iron oxide NPs rises because they can be synthesized in various shapes, sizes, and in large amounts (e.g., via thermal decomposition or laser target evaporation) enabling costeffective production. Previous studies demonstrated successful NP delivery into living tissues, their spatial manipulation by external magnetic fields [10,11], as well as their controlled heating [12].
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