Biomaterials for Regenerative Medicine: Cytotoxicity of Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles in Stem Cells

Detrimental effects of nanoparticles on cell viability, cell growth and morphology have been an ongoing topic in the field of nanoparticle tissue engineering, cell labeling, and drug delivery. Establishing biocompatible nanoparticles is particularly important for stem cell -based therapies and cell-tracking by magnetic particle imaging in regenerative medicine. Recently, magnetic particle imaging (MPI) has been presented as a new method for the measurement of the spatial distribution of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIOs). Spatial resolution and signal to noise ratio of MPI depend on the particle quality. Here we developed dextran-coated SPIOs for magnetic particle imaging and analyzed their stability and hydrodynamic diameter by photon cross correlation spectroscopy (PCCS). The uptake of SPIOs and the morphology of labeled human adult stem cells were examined by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Labeled stem cell growth was monitored by the xCELLigence system. We focused on commonly used in vitro assays for estimation of cell viability and cell death. The newly developed SPIOs revealed a low signal to noise ratio. Dextrancoated SPIOs had no significant influence on cell growth and viability of human adult stem cells. Our data support dextran-coated magnetic nanoparticles as a well-tolerated and promising tool for further surface modifications and stem cell -based therapies.