Induced T cell cytokine production is enhanced by engineered nanoparticles

Engineered nanoparticles are widely used in commercial products, and yet due to the paucity of safety information, there are concerns surrounding potential adverse health effects, especially from inhaled nanoparticles and their putative contribution to allergic airway disease. The objective of this study was to investigate whether size or surface chemistry of engineered nanoparticles can influence the immune enhancing properties of these agents on antigen-specific T cell responses. Ovalbumin (OVA)-derived peptides were presented to T cells by either spleen-derived endogenous antigen presenting cells or a mouse dendritic cell (DC) line, DC2.4. In all models, interferon (IFN)-γ and interleukin (IL)-2 production by CD8(+) or CD4(+) T cells in response to peptide OVA257-264 or OVA323-339, respectively, was measured by flow cytometry. To address the study objective, silica nanoparticles (SNPs) were modified with alkyne-terminated surfaces and appended with polyethylene glycol chains via "click" chemistry. These modified SNPs were resistant to agglomerate in in vitro culture media, suggesting that their modulation of T cell responses is the result of true nanoscale-mediated effects. Under conditions of suboptimal T-cell activation, modified SNPs (up to 10 µg/ml) enhanced the proportion of CD8(+), but not CD4(+), T cells producing IFN-γ and IL-2. Various functional groups (-COOH, -NH2 and -OH) on modified SNPs enhanced IFN-γ and IL-2 production to different levels, with -COOH SNPs being the most effective. Furthermore, 51 nm -COOH SNPs exhibited a greater enhancing effect on the CD8(+) T cell response than other sized particles. Collectively, our results show that modified SNPs can enhance antigen-specific CD8(+) T cell responses, suggesting that certain modified SNPs exhibit potential adjuvant-like properties.

Preparation and optical properties of indium tin oxide/epoxy nanocomposites with polyglycidyl methacrylate grafted nanoparticles

Visibly highly transparent indium tin oxide (ITO)/epoxy nanocomposites were prepared by dispersing polyglycidyl methacrylate (PGMA) grafted ITO nanoparticles into a commercial epoxy resin. The oleic acid stabilized, highly crystalline, and near monodisperse ITO nanoparticles were synthesized via a nonaqueous synthetic route with multigram batch quantities. An azido-phosphate ligand was synthesized and used to exchange with oleic acid on the ITO surface. The azide terminal group allows for the grafting of epoxy resin compatible PGMA polymer chains via Cu(I) catalyzed alkyne-azide "click" chemistry. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation shows that PGMA grafted ITO particles were homogeneously dispersed within the epoxy matrix. Optical properties of ITO/epoxy nanocomposites with different ITO concentrations were studied with an ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared (UV-vis-NIR) spectrometer. All the ITO/epoxy nanocomposites show more than 90% optical transparency in the visible light range and absorption of UV light from 300 to 400 nm. In the near-infrared region, ITO/epoxy nanocomposites demonstrate low transmittance and the infrared (IR) transmission cutoff wavelength of the composites shifts toward the lower wavelength with increased ITO concentration. The ITO/epoxy nanocomposites were applied onto both glass and plastic substrates as visibly transparent and UV/IR opaque optical coatings.