Cellular-uptake Behavior of Polymer Nanoparticles into Consideration of Biosafety

Nanoparticles have tremendous potential in cancer prevention, detection and augmenting existing treatments. They can target tumors, carry imaging capability to document the presence of tumors, sense pathophysiological defects in tumor cells, deliver therapeutic genes or drugs based on the tumor characteristics, respond to external triggers to release an appropriate agent, document the tumor response, and identify the residual tumor cells. Nanoparticles < 30 nanometers in diameter show unexpected and unique properties. Furthermore, particles < 5 nanometers in size can easily penetrate cells as well as living tissues and organs. This study evaluated the safety of nano materials in a living body and the relationship between the living tissue and synthetic nano materials by examining the in-vitro cytotoxicity of poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) nano-spheres and fluorescein isothiocynate(FITC)-labeled dendrimers as polymer nanoparticles. PLGA was chosen because it has been used extensively for biodegradable nanoparticles on account of its outstanding bio-compatibility and its acceptance as an FDA approved material. The dendrimer was chosen because it can carry a molecule that recognizes cancer cells, a therapeutic agent that can kill those cells, and a molecule that recognizes the signals of cell death. Cytotoxicity in L929 mouse fibroblasts was monitored using MTT assay. Microscopic observations were also carried out to observe cell growth. All assays yielded meaningful results and the PLGA nanoparticles showed less cytotoxicity than the dendrimer. These nano-particles ranged in size from 10 to 100 nm according to microscopy and spectroscopic methods.