Elena Heister

Higher Dispersion Efficacy of Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes in Chemical and Biological Environments

Aqueous dispersions of functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are now widely used for biomedical applications. Their stability in different in vitro or in vivo environments, however, depends on a wide range of parameters, such as pH and salt concentrations of the surrounding medium, and length, aspect ratio, surface charge, and functionalization of the applied CNTs. Although many of these aspects have been investigated separately, no study is available in the literature to date, which examines these parameters simultaneously. Therefore, we have chosen five types of carbon nanotubes, varying in their dimensions and surface properties, for a multidimensional analysis of dispersion stability in salt solutions of differing pH and concentrations. Furthermore, we examine the dispersion stability of oxidized CNTs in biological fluids, such as cellular growth media and human plasma, and their toxicity toward cancer cells. To enhance dispersibility and biocompatibility, the influence of different functionalization schemes is studied. The results of our investigations indicate that both CNT dimensions and surface functionalization have a significant influence on their dispersion and in vitro behavior. In particular, factors such as a short aspect ratio, presence of oxidation debris and serum proteins, low salt concentration, and an appropriate pH are shown to improve the dispersion stability. Furthermore, covalent surface functionalization with amine-terminated polyethylene glycol (PEG) is demonstrated to stabilize CNT dispersions in various media and to reduce deleterious effects on cultured cells. These findings provide crucial data for the development of biofunctionalization protocols, for example, for future cancer theranostics, and optimizing the stability of functionalized CNTs in varied biological environments.

Are carbon nanotubes a natural solution? Applications in biology and medicine.

Carbon nanotubes and materials based on carbon nanotubes have many perceived applications in the field of biomedicine. Several highly promising examples have been highlighted in the literature, ranging from their use as growth substrates or tissue scaffolds to acting as intracellular transporters for various therapeutic and diagnostic agents. In addition, carbon nanotubes have a strong optical absorption in the near-infrared region (in which tissue is transparent), which enables their use for biological imaging applications and photothermal ablation of tumors. Although these advances are potentially game-changing, excitement must be tempered somewhat as several bottlenecks exist. Carbon nanotube-based technologies ultimately have to compete with and out-perform existing technologies in terms of performance and price. Moreover, issues have been highlighted relating to toxicity, which presents an obstacle for the transition from preclinical to clinical use. Although many studies have suggested that well-functionalized carbon nanotubes appear to be safe to the treated animals, mainly rodents, long-term toxicity issues remains to be elucidated. In this report, we systematically highlight some of the most promising biomedical application areas of carbon nanotubes and review the interaction of carbon nanotubes with cultured cells and living organisms with a particular focus on in vivo biodistribution and potential adverse health effects. To conclude, future challenges and prospects of carbon nanotubes for biomedical applications will be addressed.

AFM imaging of functionalized carbon nanotubes on biological membranes

Multifunctional carbon nanotubes are promising for biomedical applications as their nano-size, together with their physical stability, gives access into the cell and various cellular compartments including the nucleus. However, the direct and label-free detection of carbon nanotube uptake into cells is a challenging task. The atomic force microscope (AFM) is capable of resolving details of cellular surfaces at the nanometer scale and thus allows following of the docking of carbon nanotubes to biological membranes. Here we present topographical AFM images of non-covalently functionalized single walled (SWNT) and double walled carbon nanotubes (DWNT) immobilized on different biological membranes, such as plasma membranes and nuclear envelopes, as well as on a monolayer of avidin molecules. We were able to visualize DWNT on the nuclear membrane while at the same time resolving individual nuclear pore complexes. Furthermore, we succeeded in localizing individual SWNT at the border of incubated cells and in identifying bundles of DWNT on cell surfaces by AFM imaging.

Design of double-walled carbon nanotubes for biomedical applications

Double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWNTs) prepared by catalytic chemical vapour deposition were functionalized in such a way that they were optimally designed as a nano-vector for the delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA), which is of great interest for biomedical research and drug development. DWNTs were initially oxidized and coated with a polypeptide (Poly(Lys:Phe)), which was then conjugated to thiol-modified siRNA using a heterobifunctional cross-linker. The obtained oxDWNT-siRNA was characterized by Raman spectroscopy inside and outside a biological environment (mammalian cells). Uptake of the custom-designed nanotubes was not associated with detectable biochemical perturbations in cultured cells, but transfection of cells with DWNTs loaded with siRNA targeting the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene, serving as a model system, as well as with therapeutic siRNA targeting the survivin gene, led to a significant gene silencing effect, and in the latter case a resulting apoptotic effect in cancer cells.

Growth and proliferation of human embryonic stem cells on fully synthetic scaffolds based on carbon nanotubes.

Here we show an industrially scalable and inexpensive method of fabricating entirely synthetic, non-xenogeneic carbon nanotube-based scaffolds by vacuum filtration for the culture of human embryonic stem cells. We show that controlled exposure of carbon nanotubes to sonication and the amount of energy delivered to the dispersion directly impacts the surface properties, allowing for control over the nanotopography of the resulting carbon nanotube films, which in turn has demonstrable effects upon in vitro human embryonic stem cells cultures. By altering the nanotube processing conditions before film fabrication, it is possible to influence cell adherence, proliferation and colony morphology. Such a tunable surface with capabilities of influencing stem cell behaviors, combined with the ability to slow or speed population doubling times, will provide crucial solutions for achieving applications envisioned by stem cell biologists to assist future industrial and clinical implementation of human embryonic stem cells.

Cellular localization, accumulation and trafficking of double-walled carbon nanotubes in human prostate cancer cells

AbstractCarbon nanotubes (CNTs) are at present being considered as potential nanovectors with the ability to deliver therapeutic cargoes into living cells. Previous studies established the ability of CNTs to enter cells and their therapeutic utility, but an appreciation of global intracellular trafficking associated with their cellular distribution has yet to be described. Despite the many aspects of the uptake mechanism of CNTs being studied, only a few studies have investigated internalization and fate of CNTs inside cells in detail. In the present study, intracellular localization and trafficking of RNA-wrapped, oxidized double-walled CNTs (oxDWNT-RNA) is presented. Fixed cells, previously exposed to oxDWNT-RNA, were subjected to immunocytochemical analysis using antibodies specific to proteins implicated in endocytosis; moreover cell compartment markers and pharmacological inhibitory conditions were also employed in this study. Our results revealed that an endocytic pathway is involved in the internalization of oxDWNT-RNA. The nanotubes were found in clathrin-coated vesicles, after which they appear to be sorted in early endosomes, followed by vesicular maturation, become located in lysosomes. Furthermore, we observed co-localization of oxDWNT-RNA with the small GTP-binding protein (Rab 11), involved in their recycling back to the plasma membrane via endosomes from the trans-golgi network.

Affinity analysis for biomolecular interactions based on magneto-optical relaxation measurements

Magneto-optical relaxation measurements of magnetically labelled biomolecules are a promising tool for immunometric analyses. Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and its polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies (anti-CEA) were utilized as a model system for affinity analysis of the interaction between antibody and antigen. For this purpose antibodies were coupled with magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs). Aggregation of these antibody sensors due to interactions with the CEA was observed subsequently by measuring the relaxation time of the birefringence of a transmitted laser beam that occurs in a pulsed magnetic field. A kinetic model of chain-like aggregation developed for these purposes enables the rapid and simple calculation of the kinetic parameters of the underlying protein interaction. From the known antigen concentration and the increase in particle size during the interaction we are able to estimate the unknown parameters with standard methods for the statistical description of stepwise polymerization. This novel affinity analysis was successfully applied for the antigen-antibody interaction described herein and can be applied to other biomolecular interactions. First efforts have been made to establish magneto-optical relaxation measurements in body fluids.

Carbon Nanotubes Loaded with Anticancer Drugs: A Platform for Multimodal Cancer Treatment

Approximately every fourth person in the world currently dies of cancer. Although many efficient anticancer drugs have been developed over the last 60 years or more, most therapeutic approaches still lack specificity for their intended site of action in the body, resulting in reduced effectiveness and severe side effects. The emerging field of nanomedicine provides a whole range of materials and techniques to develop customizable drug delivery vehicles that assist the targeting of therapeutic agents to the desired site of action. Amongst these, carbon nanotubes have emerged as promising candidates, being capable of penetrating mammalian cell membranes and allowing for the attachment of high loads of drugs and targeting agents on their surface or the inner cavity. This chapter will discuss the principles of targeted, anticancer chemotherapies and introduce carbon nanotubes as novel tools for vector-based, targeted drug delivery.

Abstract 3701: A targeted delivery system for anticancer drugs based on functionalized carbon nanotubes

Proceedings: AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010‐‐ Apr 17‐21, 2010; Washington, DC Carbon nanotubes have emerged as a promising nanomaterial for the development of customizable drug delivery system due to their ability to penetrate cell membranes and to attach high loads of drugs and targeting agents on their surface. In the field of oncology, this promotes the development of therapies with improved effectivity and fewer side effects by assisting the targeting of therapeutic agents to the desired site of action. Our work focuses on the targeted delivery of the anthracycline and anthracenedione anticancer drugs doxorubicin and mitoxantrone to human colon cancer cells (WiDr) by means of a carbon nanotube-based drug delivery system. The drugs are attached to the nanotube surface in a non-covalent manner, resulting in a weight ratio (drug: CNTs) of 4:1 owing to the high surface area of CNTs. As drug binding is higher at physiological pH than at a slightly acidic pH, this method allows for the release of the drug from the nanotubes in such environments, for example late endosomes and lysosomes. In a previous study, we have shown that doxorubicin-loaded carbon nanotubes are are taken up by WiDr colon cancer cells and release their drug payload upon cellular internalization, which then translocates to the nucleus [1]. Current work is focusing on the targeting aspect: to increase the specificity of our system, we further attach a monoclonal antibody to the nanotube carrier that recognizes/binds to carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), a target structure overexpressed by WiDr colon cancer cells. In vitro cytotoxicity studies show that the targeted drug-CNT complexes indeed have a greater therapeutic effect on WiDr cells than on MCF7 breast cancer cells, which do not express CEA. Future work will include in vivo studies on mice bearing tumor xenographs to evaluate the feasibility and behavior of our system in a setting of clinical relevance. Note: This abstract was not presented at the AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010 because the presenter was unable to attend. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3701.