TODAY, nanoparticles are not only in cosmetic products, but eveningWhere, in the air, in water, in the soil and in food. Becuse they are so tiny, they Easily Enter Into the Cells in our body. This is also of interest for medical applications: nanoparticles coated with active ingredients could be specificly introduced into cells, for example to destroy cancer cells.
However, there is Still Much to be Learned about How Nanoparticles are distributed in the Cells, what they do they, and how these effects depend on their size and coating.
New Insights Have Come from A Study (ACS Nano, "Cells Undergo Major Changes in the Quantity of Cytoplasmic Organines After Uptake of Gold Nanoparticles with Biologalely Relieving Surface Coatings") at Bessy II, Wher Prof. Gerd Schneider's Team Can Take X-Ray Microscopy Images With Soft, Intensive X-Rays. Researchers from the X-Ray Microscopy Group LED by Hzb Biophysicist Dr. James McNally Investigated Cells with differently coated nanoparticles. The nanoparticles we exactly the same size, but we coated with different active ingredients.
"X-Ray Microscopy Offers significantly Better Resolution Than Light Microscopy, and A Much Better Overview Than Electron Microscopy," Emphasizes Schneider. For the First Time, The Team Obtained Complete, Three-Dimensal, High-Résolution Images of the Nanoparticle-Treeated Cells with the Organnels Contained Therein: Including Lipid Droplets, Mitochondria, Multatesicular Bodies and Endosomes. Lipid Droplets Act as Energy Stores in the Cell, While Mitochondria Metabolize This Energy.
The analysis of the images showed: the nanoparticles accumulate preferentially in a subset of the cell organization and also changes the number of certain organizers at the expense of other organization. The Changes in Organnelle Numbers Were Similar Regardless of the Nanoparticle Coating, Suggesting That Many Different Kinds of Nanoparticles Coatings May Induce A Similar Effect.
To Evaluate Howraral This Effect is, Further Studies with Other Nanoparticle Coatings and with Other Cell Types Must Be Perform.
"X-ray Microscopy Allows Us to see the cell as a Whole, so we were able to observe this Behavior for the First Time," Explains McNally.
"We Found that absorption of such nanoparticles increases the number of mitochondria and endosomes, While Other Organizations, Namely Lipid Droplets and Multiftesicular Bodies, Decrease," Says Burcu Kepsutlu, Who Carried Out the Experiment for her Doctorate.
"When we go on a starvation diet or run a marathon, we see similar changes in the cell - Namely an Increase in Mitochondria and a Decrease in Lipid Droplets," Says McNally. "Apparently it Takes Energy for the cell to absorb the nanoparticles, and the cell feels like it has just run a marathon. »
Source: Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin Für Materialian und Energie