Hartmut Oehring

Characterization of iron oxide nanoparticles adsorbed with cisplatin for biomedical applications

The aim of this study was to characterize the behaviour of cisplatin adsorbed magnetic nanoparticles (cis-MNPs) for minimal invasive cancer treatments in preliminary in vitro investigations. Cisplatin was adsorbed to magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) by simple incubation. For stability determinations, cis-MNPs were incubated in dH(2)O, phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and fetal calf serum (FCS) at 4-121 degrees C up to 20 weeks. Hydrodynamic diameters were measured using laser diffraction. The extent of cisplatin linkage was determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. The magnetite core size was assessed by vibrating sample magnetometry and transmission electron microscopy. The specific loss power (SLP) was measured in an alternating magnetic field. Our results showed that a maximum of 10.3 +/- 1.6 (dH(2)O), 10 +/- 1.6 (PBS) and 13.4 +/- 2.2 (FCS) mg cisplatin g(-1) Fe could be adsorbed to MNPs. With hyperthermal (42 degrees C) or thermal ablative (60 degrees C) temperatures, used for therapeutic approaches, cisplatin did not desorb from cis-MNPs in dH(2)O during incubation times of 180 or 30 min, respectively. In PBS and FCS, cisplatin amounts adsorbed to MNPs decreased rapidly to approximately 50% and 25% at these temperatures. This cisplatin release will be necessary for successful chemotherapeutic activity and should increase the therapeutic effect of magnetic heating treatment in medicinal applications. The hydrodynamic diameters of MNPs or cis-MNPs were around 70 nm and magnetization data showed superparamagnetic behaviour. The obtained mean core diameter was around 12 nm. The SLP of the sample was calculated to be 75.5 +/- 1.6 W g(-1). In conclusion, cis-MNPs exhibit advantageous features for a facilitated desorption of cisplatin in biological media and the heating potential is adequate for hyperthermic treatments. Therefore, even though further detailed investigations are still necessary, tentative use in local tumour therapies aiming at a specific chemotherapeutic release in combination with magnetic heating seems to be feasible in the long term.

Comparative evaluation of the impact on endothelial cells induced by different nanoparticle structures and functionalization

Summary In the research field of nanoparticles, many studies demonstrated a high impact of the shape, size and surface charge, which is determined by the functionalization, of nanoparticles on cell viability and internalization into cells. This work focused on the comparison of three different nanoparticle types to give a better insight into general rules determining the biocompatibility of gold, Janus and semiconductor (quantum dot) nanoparticles. Endothelial cells were subject of this study, since blood is the first barrier after intravenous nanoparticle application. In particular, stronger effects on the viability of endothelial cells were found for nanoparticles with an elongated shape in comparison to spherical ones. Furthermore, a positively charged nanoparticle surface (NH2, CyA) leads to the strongest reduction in cell viability, whereas neutral and negatively charged nanoparticles are highly biocompatible to endothelial cells. These findings are attributed to a rapid internalization of the NH2-functionalized nanoparticles in combination with the damage of intracellular membranes. Interestingly, the endocytotic pathway seems to be a size-dependent process whereas nanoparticles with a size of 20 nm are internalized by caveolae-mediated endocytosis and nanoparticles with a size of 40 nm are taken up by clathrin-mediated internalization and macropinocytosis. Our results can be summarized to formulate five general rules, which are further specified in the text and which determine the biocompatibility of nanoparticles on endothelial cells. Our findings will help to design new nanoparticles with optimized properties concerning biocompatibility and uptake behavior with respect to the respective intended application.

Anti-oxidative effects and harmlessness of asymmetric Au@Fe3O4 Janus particles on human blood cells

The physical properties of asymmetric Janus particles are highly promising for future biomedical applications. However, only a few data is available on their biological impact on human cells. We investigated the biological impact of different Au@Fe3O4 Janus particle formulations in vitro to analyse specific uptake modalities and their potential cytotoxic effects on human cells of the blood regarding intravenous injection. We demonstrate that Au@Fe3O4 Janus particles exhibit a similar or even better biocompatibility compared to the well-studied spherical iron oxide nanoparticles. The impact of Janus particles on cells depends mainly on three factors. (1) Surface functionalization: NH2-functionalization of the Au or iron oxide domain induces a pronounced reduction of cell viability in contrast to non-functionalized variants which is caused by the damage of intracellular membranes. (2) The nature of the metal oxide component, greatly affects cell viability, as shown by a comparison with Au@MnO Janus particles. (3) The overall surface charge and the size of nanoparticles have a higher impact on internalization and cellular metabolism than the Janus character per se. Interestingly, Janus particle associated DNA damage is independent of the effects on the cellular ATP level. However, not only the structure and functionalization of the Janus particle surface determines the particles adhesion and intracellular fate, but also the constitution of the cell surface as shown by different modification experiments. The multifactorial in vitro approach presented in this study demonstrated the high capability of the Janus particles. Especially Au@Fe3O4 Janus particles bear great potential for applications in vivo.

Cloning assay thresholds on cells exposed to ultrafast laser pulses

The influence of the peak power, laser wavelength and the pulse duration of near infrared (NIR) ultrashort laser pulses on the reproduction behavior of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells has been studied. In particular we determined the cloning efficiency of single cell pairs after exposure to ultrashort laser pulses with an intensity in the range of GW/cm2 and TW/cm2. A total of more than 3500 non- labeled cells were exposed to a highly focused scanning beam of a multiphoton laser microscope with 60 microsecond pixel dwell time per scan. The beam was provided by a tunable argon ion laser pumped mode-locked 76 MHz Titanium:Sapphire laser as well as by a compact solid-state laser based system (Vitesse) at a fixed wavelength of 800 nm. Pulse duration (tau) was varied in the range of 100 fs to 4 ps by out-of-cavity pulse- stretching units consisting of SF14 prisms and blazed gratings. Within an optical (laser power) window CHO cells could be scanned for hours without severe impact on reproduction behavior, morphology and vitality. Ultrastructural studies reveal that mitochondria are the major targets of intense destructive laser pulses. Above certain laser power P thresholds, CHO cells started to delay or failed to undergo cell division and, in part, to develop uncontrolled cell growth (giant cell formation). The damage followed a P2/(tau) relation which is typical for a two-photon excitation process. Therefore, cell damage was found to be more pronounced at shorter pulses. Due to the same P2/(tau) relation for the efficiency of fluorescence excitation, two- photon microscopy of living cells does not require extremely short femtosecond laser pulses nor pulse compression units. Picosecond as well as femtosecond layers can be used as efficient light sources in safe two photon fluorescence microscopy. Only in three photon fluorescence microscopy, femtosecond laser pulses are advantageous over picosecond pulses.

Employment of merocyanine 540 fluorescence to form diaminobenzidine (DAB) oxidation product: A photoconversion method for the visualization of erythrocyte membrane fluidity for light and electron microscopy

Intact native red blood cells (RBC) and treated RBC preparations were labelled with MC 540 and irradiated in the presence of diaminobenzidine (DAB). The polymerized diaminobenzidine reaction product is permanently stable in comparison with the labile fluorescence labelling. The brownish stained DAB polymerization product (DAB brown) and osmium black (after conversion of DAB brown with OsO4) allow the densitometrical determination with the light microscope. The latter product can be directly observed in the electron microscope. A direct correlation exists between the fluorescence intensity and the polymerized diaminobenzidine staining. It can be deduced that the enhancement of the DAB mediated contrast is reflecting an increased fluidity of the red cell membrane. The reaction was successful with all red cell preparations tested. This method is also suitable for the determination of fluidity changes in other cell membranes.

Toxicitätsbestimmungen bei Diphtherie-Bakterien

ZusammenfassungBei eigenen Untersuchungen an 314 Diphtheriestämmen, die wir in einem Zeitraum von 18 Monaten isolierten, war der Befund einer Patientin besonders interessant, da bei ihr der mehrfache kulturelle Nachweis saccharosepositiver Di-Bakterien gelang. Einen Wechsel des Typs beobachteten wir bei weiteren 3 Fällen. Nach der Beschreibung der von uns angewandten Methodik zum Nachweis des Di-Toxins im TV nachRömer und im Plattentest nachOuchterlony gelangen dann die Ergebnisse der S-Methode und Intracutanreaktion zur Darstellung. Daran anschließend findet die Besprechung der Resultate anhand mehrerer Tabellen, in denen die von verschiedenen Personenkreisen isolierten DiStämme zusammengestellt sind, statt. Selbst bei echten diphtherischen Affektionen ist die Möglichkeit des Nachweises atoxischer Bakterienstämme gegeben. Ihr Anteil bei Bakterienträgern und Personen mit Erkrankungen des Rhinopharynx ist größer. In der Folge kommen die Ergebnisse anderer Untersucher zur Diskussion. Fehlende Übereinstimmung zwischen den Ergebnissen des TV und der Plattenmethode können mehrere Ursachen haben. Das Versagen der in vitro-Methode läßt sich durch Stämme mit ausschließlicher oder überwiegender Produktion von dermotoxischen Substanzen erklären. Auf der anderen Seite vermögen im Toxin vorkommende, die Diffusion beschleunigende Komponenten eine Negativität des Tierversuchs vorzutäuschen. Es wird deshalb vorgeschlagen, beide Methoden, von denen jede einzelne als sehr empfindlich anzusehen ist und die eine große Zahl schwacher Toxinproduzenten zu erkennen erlaubt, in der Diphtherie-Diagnostik anzuwenden. Bei negativem Ausfall einer dieser Reaktionen sollte der betreffende Stamm folglich nicht als atoxisch angesehen werden.

Comet assay, cloning assay, and light and electron microscopy on one preselected cell

In order to perform long-term studies up to one week on a preselected single cell after micromanipulation (e.g. UVA and NIR microbeam exposure) in comparison with non-treated neighbor cells (control cells) we applied a variety of single cell diagnostic techniques and developed a special comet assay for single preselected cells. For that purpose adherent cells were grown in low concentrations and maintained in special sterile centimeter-sized glass cell chambers. After preselection, a single cell was marked by means of diamond-produced circles on the outer cell chamber window. During exposure to microbeams, NADH-attributed autofluorescence of the chosen cell was detected by fluorescence imaging and spectroscopy. In addition, cell morphology was video-monitored (formation of pseudopodia, membrane blebbing,...). Maintaining the microchamber in the incubator, the irradiated cell was examined 24 h later for cell division (clone formation) and modifications in autofluorescence and morphology (including daughter cells). In the case that no division occurred the vitality of the light-exposed cell and of the control cells were probed by intranuclear propidium iodide accumulation. After fixation, either electron microscopy or single cell gel electrophoresis (comet assay) was performed. To monitor comet formation indicating photoinduced DNA damage in the preselected single cell in comparison with the non-exposed neighbor cells the chamber was filled with low-melting gel and lysis solution and exposed to an electric field. In contrast to the conventional comet assay, where only randomly chosen cells of a suspension are investigated, the novel optimized electrophoresis technique should enhance the possibilities of DNA damage detection to a true single (preselected) cell level. The single cell techniques applied to UVA microexposed Chinese hamster ovary cells (364 nm, 1 mW, 3.5 W/cm2) revealed significant cell damage for J/cm2 fluences such as modifications of intracellular redox state, impaired cell division, formation of giant cells and cell shrinking, swelling of mitochondria and loss of cristae as well as DNA damage.

QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF PRIMARY CERIUM REACTION PRODUCT FORMED BY GLUCOSE-6-PHOSPHATASE ACTIVITY IN A MALE RAT LIVER : AN IMAGE ANALYSIS STUDY

Glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) activity has been determined in periportal and pericentral areas of the liver of normal male rats. Measurements were performed on unfixed cryostat sections mounted on semipermeable membranes. In the present study, the oxidized primary reaction product of a cerium-based histochemical method [Ce(IV)perhydroxyphosphate] instead of the final reaction product after a second-step incubation was measured. For quantification of the amount of Ce(IV)perhydroxyphosphate formed the digital image analyzing system Quantimet 500+ was used. Estimated values of optical densities of Ce(IV)perhydroxyphosphate over test areas were employed for calculation of kinetic parameters of (G6Pase). Highest activities of G6Pase (higherKm andVmax levels) were found in periportal areas of the rat liver, indicating a higher amount of active enzyme molecules and a lower affinity for the substrate. Differences in values for bothKm andVmax between periportal and pericentral zones were highly significant and closely comparable to those for male fed rats. Correlations betweenKm andVmax were significant for periportal as well for pericentral liver areas. The results of the present study thus allow the same biological implications as histochemical methods employing a final reaction for quantification of enzyme activities. The present method avoids the drawbacks of enhancement reactions and demonstrates the feasibility of in situ analysis of enzyme kinetic parameters by quantification of oxidized primary cerium reaction products.