Toxicological evaluation of dextran stabilized iron oxide nanoparticles in human peripheral blood lymphocytes

Iron oxide nanoparticles present an attractive choice for carcinogenic cell destruction via hyperthermia treatment due to its small size and magnetic susceptibility. Dextran stabilized iron oxide nanoparticles (DIONPs) synthesized and characterized for this purpose were used to evaluate its effect on cellular uptake, cytotoxicity, and oxidative stress response in human peripheral blood lymphocytes. In the absence of efficient internalization and perceptible apoptosis, DIONPs were still capable of inducing significant levels of reactive oxygen species formation shortly after exposure. Although these particles did not cause any genotoxic effect, they enhanced the expression of a few relevant oxidative stress and antioxidant defense related genes, accompanied by an increase in the glutathione peroxidase activity. These results indicate that under the tested conditions, DIONPs induced only minimal levels of oxidative stress in lymphocytes. Understanding the biological interaction of DIONPs, the consequences as well as the associated mechanisms in vitro, together with information obtained from systemic studies, could be expected to advance the use of these particles for further clinical trials.