A novel "cells-on-particles" cytotoxicity testing platform in vitro: design, characterization, and validation against...

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Toxicology
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Assessing the biological impact of airborne particulate matter is crucial for public health.
• Current methods for evaluating aerosol cytotoxicity often involve complex extraction or resuspension steps.
• A need exists for direct, sensitive, and efficient in vitro testing platforms for aerosol toxicity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and validate a novel
• Cells-on-Particles
• platform for integrated aerosol sampling and in vitro cytotoxicity testing.
• To evaluate the biocompatibility of cellulose acetate (CA) and poly[ε]caprolactone (PCL) platforms with human bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B).
• To compare the cytotoxic effects of silver, copper, and graphene oxide nanoparticles on BEAS-2B cells using the developed platform.

Main Methods:

• Development of the
• Cells-on-Particles
• platform using CA and PCL materials.
• Culturing and exposing BEAS-2B cells on the PCL platforms to simulated occupational aerosols.
• Assessment of cell viability and gene expression patterns following nanoparticle exposure.
• Comparison of results with traditional submerged exposure (
• Particles-on-Cells
• ) methods.

Main Results:

• Both CA and PCL platforms demonstrated biocompatibility, supporting BEAS-2B cell attachment and growth.
• Nanoparticle exposure induced dose-dependent cytotoxic effects, varying by particle type.
• Copper nanoparticles exhibited the highest cytotoxicity, while graphene oxide nanoparticles showed the least.
• Gene expression patterns were distinct and dependent on the type of nanoparticle exposure.
• The
• Cells-on-Particles
• platform showed comparable results to submerged exposure methods, indicating good sensitivity.

Conclusions:

• The
• Cells-on-Particles
• platform provides a sensitive, simple, and direct method for assessing aerosol particle cytotoxicity.
• The platform allows for the evaluation of biological effects using particles with unaltered properties.
• This technology holds promise for screening the toxicity of ambient and occupational airborne particulate matter.