Premium
Cytotoxicity of mesoporous silicon microparticles with different surface modifications on ARPE‐19 cells
Author(s) -
KORHONEN E,
RIIKONEN J,
XU W,
LEHTO VP,
KAUPPINEN A
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
acta ophthalmologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.534
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1755-3768
pISSN - 1755-375X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-3768.2014.3257.x
Subject(s) - cytotoxicity , porous silicon , viability assay , lactate dehydrogenase , mesoporous silica , biophysics , chemistry , mesoporous material , nanotechnology , materials science , silicon , cell , biochemistry , enzyme , organic chemistry , biology , in vitro , catalysis
Abstract Purpose Retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of age‐related macular degeneration (AMD). However, RPE is a challenging target in a therapeutical sense. In addition to its location, the possible hydrophobicity of drug molecules makes its medication even more challenging. Biodegradable porous silicon (PSi) microparticles could be a promising possibility for delivering hydrophobic drugs to RPE cells. In the present study, we aimed at testing the cytotoxicity of thermally oxidized (ToPSi) and thermally carbonized porous silicon (TCPSi) particles with and without additional surface modification with amino groups on human ARPE‐19 cells. Since the cytotoxicity of PSi particles cannot be tested by the commonly used MTT (3‐[4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl]‐2,5‐diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay due to non‐specific redox reactions, our aim was also to search for alternative assays for working with mesoporous silicon materials. Methods ARPE‐19 cells were treated with microparticles at several concentrations for 24 h. Thereafter, cell viability was measured using a protease viability marker assay (CellTiter‐FluorTM) and a lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release assay. Cells were also evaluated ocularly under an inverted microscope. Results All tested particles were well tolerated by ARPE‐19 cells. CellTiter‐Fluor assay seemed slightly more reliable than the LDH test. Conclusion Our results show that the tested porous silicon particles did not cause major cytotoxicity on ARPE‐19 cells, and CellTiter‐Fluor assay, especially together with ocular examination, could be suitable for testing cytotoxicity in association with mesoporous silicon particles.