Microfluidic Image Cytometry (μFIC) Assessments of Silver Nanoparticle Cytotoxicity

Cytotoxicity assessment of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was performed using MTT-based microfluidic image cytometry (${\mu}FIC$). The $LC_{50}$ value of HeLa cells exposed to AgNPs in the microfluidic device was estimated as 46.7 mg/L, which is similar to that estimated by MTT-based IC for cells cultured in a 96 well plate (49.9 mg/L). These results confirm that the ${\mu}FIC$ approach can produce cytotoxicity data that is reasonably well-matched with that of the conventional 96 well plate system with much higher efficiency. This ${\mu}FIC$ method provides many benefits including ease of use and low cost, and is a more rapid in vitro cell based assay for AgNPs. This may aid in speeding up data acquisition in the field of nanosafety and make a significant contribution to the quantitative understanding of nanoproperty-toxicity relationships.