Effect of iron oxide nanoparticles on the permeability properties of Sf21 cells

It was recently reported that nanoparticles could significantly modulate the thermal properties of solutions at subzero temperatures, and as a result, nanoparticles have been widely used in both cryopreservation and cryosurgery. In cryopreservation, the water permeability coefficient of cell membrane is an essential parameter for quantitative investigation of cell dehydration and intracellular ice formation. However, few studies were focused on the effects of nanoparticles on the permeability properties of cell membrane. In order to optimize the processes of cryopreservation with nanoparticles, we measured the permeability properties of Sf21 cells in the presence of iron oxide nanoparticles in this study. The responses of Sf21 cells with iron oxide nanoparticles were obtained by the microperfusion system at -2, 5, 15 and 25 °C, respectively. The osmotically inactive cell volume (Vb), the cell membrane hydraulic conductivity (Lp) and it's activation energy (ELp), and the reference value of Lp at the reference temperature (Lpg) with 0.02%, 0.1% and 0.5% (w/w) iron oxide nanoparticles were determined by 2-parameter (2-p) model at -2, 5, 15 and 25 °C. We analyzed the effects of iron oxide nanoparticles on the permeability properties of the Sf21 cells. The results indicated that iron oxide nanoparticles have a significant influence on membrane permeability properties (Lpg and ELp) of Sf21 cells. The introduction of iron oxide nanoparticles tends to increase the values of Vb and Lpg, while decrease the value of ELp. These findings may provide a new route to optimize the biomaterial cryopreservation.