Journal of Biotechnology & Biomaterials
Open Access

Abstract

Synthetic hydroxyapatite nanocrystals (n-HA) can be tailored to have physicochemical properties suitable for natural bone substitutions. Similarly, magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are being given a growing attention because of their therapeutic potentialities in anticancer hyperthermic treatment. Bearing this in mind, we intended to investigate MNPs-decorated n-HA as putative agents against malignant bone disease. The goal of this study is, in fact, to provide magnetic responsiveness to bonemimicking n-HA. To this aim, dextran-grafted magnetite nanoparticles (DM) have been prepared by an easy and scalable synthesis based on a previously reported method1. Then, magnetic nano-architectures based on n-HA decorated by DM nanoparticles (DM-HA) have been synthesized by an aqueous precipitation technique in the presence of different amounts of DM (i.e., DM-HA weight ratio: 1/1, 2/1, 3/1). For each DM-HA ratio X-Ray diffraction patterns are consistent with singlephase low crystalline HA similar to deproteinized bone apatite. Magnetic susceptibility of DM-HA shows modulation of the magnetization as a function of the DM content. Cytocompatibility parameters of DM-HA were assessed by using a bone derived human cell line. Morphological and physical interactions between DM-HA and cells were evaluated and compared to DM and n-HA alone. Nanoparticles internalization was investigated by analyzing the intracellular iron content, via atomic emission spectroscopy. Finally, the effects of DM-HA were analyzed in terms of changes in gene expression of adhesion, proliferation and morphology markers, to identify possible interplay with physiological cells responses. Overall, we developed the synthesis of DM-HA particles as bone substitute and anticancer materials due to their magnetic properties.

Biography

Email: stefania.scialla@unisalento.it