How safe are magnetic nanomotors: From cells to animals

Helical magnetic nanomotors can be actuated using an external magnetic field and have potential applications in drug delivery, colloidal manipulation, and bio-microrheology. Recently, they have been maneuvered in biological environments such as vitreous humour, dentinal tubules, peritoneal fluid, stromal matrix, and blood, which are promising developments for clinical applications. However, their biocompatibility and biodistribution are vital parameters that must be assessed before further use. An extensive quantitative evaluation has been performed for these parameters for the first time through in vitro and in vivo experiments. Investigations of cell death, proliferation, and DNA damage ascertain that the motors are non-toxic. Also, an unbiased transcriptomic analysis affirms that the motors are not genotoxic till 20 motors/ cell. Toxicity studies in mice reveal that the motors show no signs of toxicity up to a dose of 55 mg/ kg body weight. Further, the biodistribution studies show that they remain in the blood circulation after injection and at later stages possibly adhere to the walls of the blood vessel because of adsorption. However, perfusion with physiological saline decreases this adsorption/adhesion. Overall, we demonstrate the biocompatibility of nanomotors in live cellular and organismal systems, and a systemic biodistribution analysis reveals organ-specific retention of motors.