Simultaneous synthesis of nanodiamonds and graphene via plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (MW PE-CVD) on copper

Dependence of diamond nanoparticle cytotoxicity on physicochemical parameters: comparative studies of glioblastoma, breast cancer, and hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines

Reports on the cytotoxicity of diamond nanoparticles (ND) are ambiguous and depend on the physicochemical properties of the material and the tested cell lines. Thus, the aim of this research was to evaluate the influence of thirteen types of diamond nanoparticles, differing in production method, size, and surface functional groups, on their cytotoxicity against four tumor cell lines (T98G, U-118 MG, MCF-7, and Hep G2) and one non-tumor cell line (HFF-1). In order to understand the dependence of diamond nanoparticles on physicochemical properties, the following parameters were analyzed: viability, cell membrane damage, morphology, and the level of intracellular general ROS and mitochondrial superoxide. The performed analyses revealed that all diamond nanoparticles showed no toxicity to MCF-7, Hep G2, and HFF-1 cells. In contrast, the same nanomaterials were moderately toxic for the glioblastoma T98G and U-118 MG cell lines. In general, the effect of the production method did not influence ND toxicity. Some changes in cell response after treatment with modified nanomaterials were observed, with the presence of carboxyl groups having a more detrimental effect than the presence of other functional groups. Although nanoparticles of different sizes caused similar toxicity, nanomaterials with bigger particles caused a more pronounced effect.

Differences in the Cell Type-Specific Toxicity of Diamond Nanoparticles to Endothelial Cells Depending on the Exposure of the Cells to Nanoparticles

Introduction

Diamond nanoparticles are considered to be one of the most cytocompatible carbon nanomaterials; however, their toxicity varies significantly depending on the analysed cell types. The aim was to investigate the specific sensitivity of endothelial cells to diamond nanoparticles dependent on exposure to nanoparticles.

Methods

Diamond nanoparticles were characterized with Raman spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). Toxicity of diamond nanoparticles was assessed for endothelial cells (HUVEC), human mammary epithelial cells (HMEC) and HS-5 cell line. The effect of diamond nanoparticles on the level of ROS, NO, NADPH and protein synthesis of angiogenesis-related proteins of endothelial cells was evaluated.

Results and Discussion

Our studies demonstrated severe cell type-specific toxicity of diamond nanoparticles to endothelial cells (HUVEC) depending on nanoparticle surface interaction with cells. Furthermore, we have assessed the effect on cytotoxicity of the bioconjugation of nanoparticles with a peptide containing the RGD motive and a serum protein corona. Our study suggests that the mechanical interaction of diamond nanoparticles with the endothelial cell membranes and the endocytosis of nanoparticles lead to the depletion of NADPH, resulting in an intensive synthesis of ROS and a decrease in the availability of NO. This leads to severe endothelial toxicity and a change in the protein profile, with changes in major angiogenesis-related proteins, including VEGF, bFGF, ANPT2/TIE-2, and MMP, and the production of stress-related proteins, such as IL-6 and IL-8.

Conclusion

We confirmed the presence of a relationship between the toxicity of diamond nanoparticles and the level of cell exposure to nanoparticles and the nanoparticle surface. The results of the study give new insights into the conditioned toxicity of nanomaterials and their use in biomedical applications.

Recent Synergy of Nanodiamonds: Role in Brain-Targeted Drug Delivery for the Management of Neurological Disorders

The aim of the present review article is to summarize the role of nanodiamonds in various neurological diseases. We have taken related literature of making this review article from ScienceDirect, springer, Research gate, PubMed, Sci-finder, etc. The current approaches for treating neurological conditions such as glioblastoma includes chemotherapy or combination anti-retro viral therapy for HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) or use of anti-Alzheimer drugs during cognitive impairment. These approaches can provide only symptomatic relief as they do not target the cause of the disease due to their inability to penetrate the blood brain barrier. On long-term use, they may cause CNS toxicity due to accumulation in the brain. So nanodiamonds could prove as a promising approach in the brain targeting of the bioactive and to treat many neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, brain tumor (glioblastoma), HIV, amyotrophic multiple sclerosis, Huntington disease, stroke (cerebrovascular attack), batten disease, schizophrenia, epilepsy, and bacterial infections (encephalitis, sepsis, and meningitis) due to their ability to penetrate the blood-brain barrier and owing to their excellent surface properties, i.e., nano size and high surface area, ease of functionalization, multiple drug binding, and biocompatibility; they can be useful for brain targeted drug delivery with minimal side effects.

Plasma & Microwaves as Greener Options for Nanodiamond Purification: Insight Into Cytocompatibility

The potential biomedical applications of nanodiamond have been considered over the last few decades. However, there is still uncertainty regarding the extent to which the surface characteristics of this material can influence potential applications. The present study investigated the effects of surface characteristics alongside the prospective of improving nanodiamond production using cold plasma and microwave technologies for the surface tailoring of the nanocarbons. Numerous approaches were applied to purify, refine and modify a group of nanosized diamonds at each step of their production cycle: from the detonation soot as the initial raw material to already certified samples. The degree of surface changes were deliberately performed slowly and kept at different non-diamond carbon presence stages, non-carbon elemental content, and amount converted superficial moieties. In total, 21 treatment procedures and 35 types of nanosize diamond products were investigated. In addition cultures of human fibroblast cells showed enhanced viability in the presence of many of the processed nanodiamonds, indicating the potential for dermal applications of these remarkable nanomaterials.

Biocompatibility of nanomaterials and their immunological properties

Nanomaterials (NMs) have revolutionized multiple aspects of medicine by enabling novel sensing, diagnostic, and therapeutic approaches. Advancements in processing and fabrication have also allowed significant expansion in the applications of the major classes of NMs based on polymer, metal/metal oxide, carbon, liposome, or multi-scale macro-nano bulk materials. Concomitantly, concerns regarding the nanotoxicity and overall biocompatibility of NMs have been raised. These involve putative negative effects on both patients and those subjected to occupational exposure during manufacturing. In this review, we describe the current state of testing of NMs including those that are in clinical use, in clinical trials, or under development. We also discuss the cellular and molecular interactions that dictate their toxicity and biocompatibility. Specifically, we focus on the reciprocal interactions between NMs and host proteins, lipids, and sugars and how these induce responses in immune and other cell types leading to topical and/or systemic effects.

Carbon Nanomaterials as Versatile Platforms for Biosensing Applications

A biosensor is defined as a measuring system that includes a biological receptor unit with distinctive specificities toward target analytes. Such analytes include a wide range of biological origins such as DNAs of bacteria or viruses, or proteins generated from an immune system of infected or contaminated living organisms. They further include simple molecules such as glucose, ions, and vitamins. One of the major challenges in biosensor development is achieving efficient signal capture of biological recognition-transduction events. Carbon nanomaterials (CNs) are promising candidates to improve the sensitivity of biosensors while attaining low detection limits owing to their capability of immobilizing large quantities of bioreceptor units at a reduced volume, and they can also act as a transduction element. In addition, CNs can be adapted to functionalization and conjugation with organic compounds or metallic nanoparticles; the creation of surface functional groups offers new properties (e.g., physical, chemical, mechanical, electrical, and optical properties) to the nanomaterials. Because of these intriguing features, CNs have been extensively employed in biosensor applications. In particular, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), nanodiamonds, graphene, and fullerenes serve as scaffolds for the immobilization of biomolecules at their surface and are also used as transducers for the conversion of signals associated with the recognition of biological analytes. Herein, we provide a comprehensive review on the synthesis of CNs and their potential application to biosensors. In addition, we discuss the efforts to improve the mechanical and electrical properties of biosensors by combining different CNs.