Human mesenchymal stem cells labelled with dye-loaded amorphous silica nanoparticles: long-term biosafety, stemness preservation and traceability in the beating heart

Background: Treatment of myocardial infarction with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has proven beneficial effects in both animal and clinical studies. Engineered silica nanoparticles (SiO 2 -NPs) have been extensively used as contrast agents in regenerative medicine, due to their resistance to degradation and ease of functionalization. However, there are still controversies on their effective biosafety on cellular systems. In this perspective, the aims of the present study are: 1) to deeply investigate the impact of amorphous 50 nm SiO 2 -NPs on viability and function of human bone marrow-derived MSCs (hMSCs); 2) to optimize a protocol of harmless hMSCs labelling and test its feasibility in a beating heart model. Results: Optimal cell labelling is obtained after 16 h exposure of hMSCs to fluorescent 50 nm SiO 2 -NPs (50 µg mL −1 ); interestingly, lysosomal activation consequent to NPs storage is not associated to oxidative stress. During prolonged culture hMSCs do not undergo cyto- or genotoxicity, preserve their proliferative potential and their stemness/differentiation properties. Finally, the bright fluorescence emitted by internalized SiO 2 -NPs allows both clear visualization of hMSCs in normal and infarcted rat hearts and ultrastructural analysis of cell engraftment inside myocardial tissue. Conclusions: Overall, 50 nm SiO 2 -NPs display elevated compatibility with hMSCs in terms of lack of cyto- and genotoxicity and maintenance of important features of these cells. The demonstrated biosafety, combined with proper cell labelling and visualization in histological sections, make these SiO 2 -NPs optimal candidates for the purpose of stem cell tracking inside heart tissue.
Clara Gallina
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Hybrid nanoprobes of bismuth sulfide nanoparticles and CdSe/ZnS quantum dots for mouse computed tomography/fluorescence dual mode imaging

Background: X-ray computed tomography (CT) imaging can be used to reveal the three-dimensional structure of deep tissue with high spatial resolution. However, it cannot reveal molecular or cellular changes, and has great limitations in terms of specificity and sensitivity. Fluorescence imaging technology is one of the main methods used for the study of molecular events in vivo and has important applications in life science research. Therefore, the combination of CT and fluorescence imaging is an ideal dual-modal molecular imaging method, which can provide data on both molecular function and tissue structure, and has important research value. In a previous study, Bi 2 S 3 nanoparticles were wrapped with quantum dots in SiO 2 to generate CT and fluorescence imaging. However, this type of probe led to low survival and caused innegligible in vivo toxicity in mice. Therefore, it is necessary to develop new multifunctional probes that demonstrate biocompatibility and safety in vivo. Methods: A polyethylene glycol-phospholipid bilayer structure was used to synthesize hybrid clusters containing hydrophobic Bi 2 S 3 nanoparticles and quantum dots for combined CT/fluorescence imaging. Mean particle size, polydispersity index, and zeta potential were used to study the stability over an 8-week test period. In vivo CT and fluorescence imaging experiments were performed, and the in vivo safety of the probe was evaluated, using histopathological, biochemical, and blood analyses. Results: The probe distinctly enhanced the CT contrast and had fluorescence imaging capability. In addition, the nanocomposite hybrid clusters showed a longer circulation time (>4 h) than iobitridol. The results also showed that the Bi 2 S 3 -QD@DSPE probe had good biocompatibility and safety, and did not affect normal organ functioning. Conclusions: Bi 2 S 3 -QD@DSPE hybrid clusters exhibited remarkable performance in CT angiography and fluorescence imaging in vivo.
Jun Chen
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Effects of Nanoscale Spatial Arrangement of Arginine–Glycine–Aspartate Peptides on Dedifferentiation of Chondrocytes

Nano Letters

DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b04043

Shiyu Li, Xuan Wang, Bin Cao, Kai Ye, Zhenhua Li and Jiandong Ding
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Gas Permeation through Nafion. Part 1: Measurements

The Journal of Physical Chemistry C

DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.5b04155

Maximilian Schalenbach, Tobias Hoefner, Paul Paciok, Marcelo Carmo, Wiebke Lueke and Detlef Stolten
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Functional Surfaces with Photocatalytic Behavior and Reversible Wettability: ZnO Coating on Silicon Spikes

The Journal of Physical Chemistry C

DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.5b07736

Melani A. Frysali, Lampros Papoutsakis, George Kenanakis and Spiros H. Anastasiadis
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An Optically Driven Bistable Janus Rotor with Patterned Metal Coatings

ACS Nano

DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.5b03565

Yiwu Zong, Jing Liu, Rui Liu, Honglian Guo, Mingcheng Yang, Zhiyuan Li and Ke Chen
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Mechanics of Viral Chromatin Reveals the Pressurization of Human Adenovirus

ACS Nano

DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.5b03417

Alvaro Ortega-Esteban, Gabriela N. Condezo, Ana J. Pérez-Berná, Miguel Chillón, Sarah J. Flint, David Reguera, Carmen San Martín and Pedro J. de Pablo
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Cooperative Self-Assembly Transfer from Hierarchical Supramolecular Polymers to Gold Nanoparticles

ACS Nano

DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.5b04841

João Paulo Coelho, Gloria Tardajos, Vladimir Stepanenko, Alexander Rödle, Gustavo Fernández and Andrés Guerrero-Martínez
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Ordered Pd2Ge Intermetallic Nanoparticles as Highly Efficient and Robust Catalyst for Ethanol Oxidation

Chemistry of Materials

DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.5b03546

Sumanta Sarkar, Rajkumar Jana, Suchitra Prasad, Umesh V. Waghmare, Balamurugan Thapa, S. Sampath and Sebastian C. Peter
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Real-Time Monitoring Surface Chemistry-Dependent In Vivo Behaviors of Protein Nanocages via Encapsulating an NIR-II Ag2S Quantum Dot

ACS Nano

DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.5b05503

Chunyan Li, Feng Li, Yejun Zhang, Wenjing Zhang, Xian-En Zhang and Qiangbin Wang
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Simultaneous Purification and Perforation of Low-Grade Si Sources for Lithium-Ion Battery Anode

Nano Letters

DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b03932

Yan Jin, Su Zhang, Bin Zhu, Yingling Tan, Xiaozhen Hu, Linqi Zong and Jia Zhu
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Kinetics of Water Oxidation at TiO2 Nanotube Arrays at Different pH Domains Investigated by Electrochemical and Light-Modulated Impedance Spectroscopy

The Journal of Physical Chemistry C

DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.5b06103

H. Cachet and E. M. M. Sutter
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A Thermodynamic View of Agglomeration

The Journal of Physical Chemistry C

DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.5b07893

Stanislav V. Sokolov, Enno Kätelhön and Richard G. Compton
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Super-resolution Microscopy of Clickable Amino Acids Reveals the Effects of Fluorescent Protein Tagging on Protein Assemblies

ACS Nano

DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.5b04434

Ingrid C. Vreja, Ivana Nikić, Fabian Göttfert, Mark Bates, Katharina Kröhnert, Tiago F. Outeiro, Stefan W. Hell, Edward A. Lemke and Silvio O. Rizzoli
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Electrostatic Self-Assembly of Soft Matter Nanoparticle Cocrystals with Tunable Lattice Parameters

ACS Nano

DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.5b04912

Ville Liljeström, Jani Seitsonen and Mauri A. Kostiainen
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Molecular Self-Assembly in a Poorly Screened Environment: F4TCNQ on Graphene/BN

ACS Nano

DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.5b05322

Hsin-Zon Tsai, Arash A. Omrani, Sinisa Coh, Hyungju Oh, Sebastian Wickenburg, Young-Woo Son, Dillon Wong, Alexander Riss, Han Sae Jung, Giang D. Nguyen, Griffin F. Rodgers, Andrew S. Aikawa, Takashi Taniguchi, Kenji Watanabe, Alex Zettl, Steven G. Louie, Jiong Lu, Marvin L. Cohen and Michael F. Crommie
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Effects of the Dielectric Response of Single-Component Liquids and Liquid Mixtures on Electrochemical Properties between Charged Plates

The Journal of Physical Chemistry C

DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.5b06675

Hongbo Chen and Issei Nakamura
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Phosphorus Enrichment as a New Composition in the Solid Electrolyte Interphase of High-Voltage Cathodes and Its Effects on Battery Cycling

Chemistry of Materials

DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.5b03510

Pengfei Yang, Jianming Zheng, Saravanan Kuppan, Qiuyan Li, Dongping Lv, Jie Xiao, Guoying Chen, Ji-Guang Zhang and Chong-Min Wang
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High Energy Organic Cathode for Sodium Rechargeable Batteries

Chemistry of Materials

DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.5b02569

Haegyeom Kim, Ji Eon Kwon, Byungju Lee, Jihyun Hong, Minah Lee, Soo Young Park and Kisuk Kang
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