The effect of Silicon Quantum Dots on Different Cell Types

Silicon is an eligible material for biomedical studies due to its remarkable properties as biocompatibility and biodegradability.Silicon nanoparticles (quantum dots) co-doped with boron and phosphorus, with diameter around 4... [ view full abstract ]

Silicon is an eligible material for biomedical studies due to its remarkable properties as biocompatibility and biodegradability.

Silicon nanoparticles (quantum dots) co-doped with boron and phosphorus, with diameter around 4 nanometres evincing fluorescence and dispersability in aqueous solutions were studied in respect to their impact on different human cells (osteoblasts and monocytes).

Their cytotoxicity in different types of human cells as well as their interactions with these cells were studied. Exposing cells to rising concentrations of quantum dots under different conditions and consecutive evaluation of their cytotoxicity brought an overview on cell specific reaction to their identical doses. Further, colocalization studies of nanoparticle signal and cell specific structures (organelles) of endocytic pathway were performed using fluorescence confocal microscopy.

Obtained results show significant importance of cultivation conditions (e.g. formation of protein corona on nanoparticles originating from media supplement) as well as significant impact of cell type (increased sensitivity of monocytes to studied quantum dots in comparison to other cell types). These results thus provide an insight on future directions of related research.