Abstract

Nanosized particles are receiving increasingattention as future contrast agents (CAs) forultrasound (US) molecular imaging, possibly decoratedon its surface with biological recognition agentsfor targeted delivery and deposition of therapeutics. Inparticular, silica nanospheres (SiNSs) have beendemonstrated to be feasible in terms of contrastenhancement on conventional US systems. In thiswork, we evaluated the cytotoxicity of SiNSs on breastcancer (MCF-7) and HeLa (cervical cancer) cellsemploying NSs with sizes ranging from 160 to 330 nmand concentration range of 1.5-5 mg/mL. Cell viabilitywas evaluated in terms of size, dose and timedependence, performing the MTT reduction assaywith coated and uncoated SiNSs. Whereas uncoatedSiNSs caused a variable significant decrease in cellviability on both cell lines mainly depending on sizeand exposure time, PEGylated SiNSs (SiNSs-PEG)exhibit a high level of biocompatibility. In fact, after72-h incubation, viability of both cell types was abovethe cutoff value of 70 % at concentration up to 5 mg/mL. We also investigated the acoustical behavior ofcoated and uncoated SiNSs within conventionaldiagnostic US fields in order to determine a suitableconfiguration, in terms of particle size and concentration,for their employment as targetable CAs. Ourresults indicate that the employment of SiNSs withdiameters around 240 nm assures the most effectivecontrast enhancement even at the lowest testedconcentration, coupled with the possibility of targetingall tumor tissues, being the SiNSs still in a size rangewhere reticuloendothelial system trapping effect isrelatively low.

Autore Pugliese

• Casciaro Ernesto , Conversano Francesco , Casciaro Sergio

Tutti gli autori

• F. Chiriacò; F. Conversano; G. Soloperto; E. Casciaro; A. Ragusa; E.A. Sbenaglia; L. Dipaola; S. Casciaro

Titolo volume/Rivista

Journal of nanoparticle research

Anno di pubblicazione

2013

ISSN

1388-0764

ISBN

Non Disponibile

Numero di citazioni Wos

Nessuna citazione

Ultimo Aggiornamento Citazioni

Non Disponibile

Numero di citazioni Scopus

Non Disponibile

Ultimo Aggiornamento Citazioni

Non Disponibile

Settori ERC

Non Disponibile

Codici ASJC

Non Disponibile