Micro- and nano-surface structures based on vapor-deposited polymers

• Hsien-Yeh Chen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1366–1374, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.138

• –Arg–Glu–Asp–Val (CREDV) peptide showed the synergic anti-fouling property and preferentially enhanced attachment of endothelial cells in such patterned areas [50]. In another report, a multifunctional coating was realized via CVD copolymerization to deposit a poly(p-xylylene) copolymer, which

Nano-engineered skin mesenchymal stem cells: potential vehicles for tumour-targeted quantum-dot delivery

• Liga Saulite,
• Dominyka Dapkute,
• Karlis Pleiko,
• Ineta Popena,
• Simona Steponkiene,
• Ricardas Rotomskis and
• Una Riekstina

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1218–1230, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.123

• , experiments in HEK cells showed the uptake of carboxyl QDs through caveolin/lipid raft-mediated endocytosis; although it has been reported that caveolin-mediated endocytosis is the dominating uptake route in endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells and adipocytes [44][46]. Damalakiene et al. demonstrated that

Silicon microgrooves for contact guidance of human aortic endothelial cells

• Sara Fernández-Castillejo,
• Pilar Formentín,
• Úrsula Catalán,
• Josep Pallarès,
• Lluís F. Marsal and
• Rosa Solà

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 675–681, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.72

• cell adhesion, morphology and proliferation were assessed, by comparing them to flat silicon substrates, used as control condition. Using human aortic endothelial cells, microscopy images demonstrate that the cellular response is different depending on the silicon surface, when it comes to cell

• microscale features to mimic the endothelium in lineal vessels. Keywords: cell morphology; contact guidance; microgrooves; silicon; human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs); Introduction Micro- and nanostructured materials for medical devices have demonstrated that surface topography as well as surface

• the affinity of the cell to be elongated and guided by the shape of the surface. The response of the cells to these topographical cues and the concept of contact guidance have been described previously for a wide variety of cells such as neuronal, epithelial or endothelial cells [8][9][10]. In

Nano- and microstructured materials for in vitro studies of the physiology of vascular cells

• Alexandra M. Greiner,
• Adria Sales,
• Hao Chen,
• Sarah A. Biela,
• Dieter Kaufmann and
• Ralf Kemkemer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1620–1641, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.155

• ) and endothelial cells (ECs) with materials having micro- and nanostructured surfaces. We summarize fabrication techniques for surface topographies, materials, geometries, biochemical functionalization, and mechanical properties of such materials. Furthermore, various studies on vascular cell behavior

• potential interesting future studies. Keywords: fabrication methods; materials selection; nano- and micro-topography; vascular endothelial cells; vascular smooth muscle cells; Introduction Cells adhering to biomaterials are influenced by the surface topography, the surface chemistry and the mechanical

• discusses model studies with a special emphasis on the fabrication of substrates with well-defined nano- and microstructured surfaces for in vitro studies with vascular cells (Figure 1). Vascular endothelial cells (ECs) and smooth muscle cells (SMCs) are two vascular cell types forming blood vessels (Figure

Viability and proliferation of endothelial cells upon exposure to GaN nanoparticles

• Tudor Braniste,
• Ion Tiginyanu,
• Tibor Horvath,
• Simion Raevschi,
• Serghei Cebotari,
• Marco Lux,
• Axel Haverich and
• Andres Hilfiker

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1330–1337, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.124

• Moldova 10.3762/bjnano.7.124 Abstract Nanotechnology is a rapidly growing and promising field of interest in medicine; however, nanoparticle–cell interactions are not yet fully understood. The goal of this work was to examine the interaction between endothelial cells and gallium nitride (GaN

• ) semiconductor nanoparticles. Cellular viability, adhesion, proliferation, and uptake of nanoparticles by endothelial cells were investigated. The effect of free GaN nanoparticles versus the effect of growing endothelial cells on GaN functionalized surfaces was examined. To functionalize surfaces with GaN, GaN

• nanoparticles were synthesized on a sacrificial layer of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles using hydride vapor phase epitaxy. The uptake of GaN nanoparticles by porcine endothelial cells was strongly dependent upon whether they were fixed to the substrate surface or free floating in the medium. The endothelial

Tight junction between endothelial cells: the interaction between nanoparticles and blood vessels

• Yue Zhang and
• Wan-Xi Yang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 675–684, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.60

• here whether nanoparticles can cause several adverse effects to human health. In this review, based on research on nanotoxicity, we mainly discuss the negative influence of nanoparticles on blood vessels in several aspects and the potential mechanism for nanoparticles to penetrate endothelial layers of

• approach for nanoparticles to penetrate endothelial layers and then have an impact on other tissues and organs. Keywords: blood vessels; endothelial cells; nanoparticles; oxidative stress; tight junction; Introduction Products related to nanoparticles (NPs) are increasingly growing in number. We can

• ]. Several modified NPs were also used in vascular-targeted therapy, which showed their way into endothelial cells and escape from the endosome in vitro [39]. Likewise, while iron oxide NPs are very helpful with their capability for imaging, their toxicity towards vascular endothelial cells cannot be ignored

Nanostructured surfaces by supramolecular self-assembly of linear oligosilsesquioxanes with biocompatible side groups

• Maria Nowacka,
• Anna Kowalewska and
• Tomasz Makowski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2377–2387, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.244

• underlying matrix. For example, surfaces carrying COOH groups were applied for studies on the effect of surface wettability on protein adsorption and adhesion of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and HeLa cells [3], human fibroblasts [14], human mesenchymal stem cells [15][22], corneal

• epithelial cells [23], fibroblasts [24], myoblasts [25] and endothelial cells [26]. Substrates with COOH groups were also used to elucidate the role of chemistry-dependent differences in cell differentiation owing to specific binding to proteins adsorbed on the surface [25][27][28]. Well-defined substrates

Protein corona – from molecular adsorption to physiological complexity

• Lennart Treuel,
• Dominic Docter,
• Michael Maskos and
• Roland H. Stauber

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 857–873, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.88

• experiments by using primary human cell models of the blood system. Pristine NPs immediately affected the vitality of endothelial cells, triggered thrombocyte activation and aggregation, and resulted in hemolysis of erythrocytes. However, such pristine NPs existed only for a very brief period of time in the

Silica micro/nanospheres for theranostics: from bimodal MRI and fluorescent imaging probes to cancer therapy

• Shanka Walia and
• Amitabha Acharya

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 546–558, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.57

• fluorescence studies. The size of the particles was found to be 31 ± 4 nm with an emission peak at approx. 620 nm. The in vitro studies with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) suggested that these NPs could be used simultaneously as fluorescent and MRI contrasting agent. 2.4 Manganese oxide as

Pulmonary surfactant augments cytotoxicity of silica nanoparticles: Studies on an in vitro air–blood barrier model

• Jennifer Y. Kasper,
• Lisa Feiden,
• Maria I. Hermanns,
• Christoph Bantz,
• Michael Maskos,
• Ronald E. Unger and
• C. James Kirkpatrick

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 517–528, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.54

• entry for pathogens or aspirated nano-sized particles (NPs). It comprises an epithelial layer directed to the alveolar lumen and a microvascular endothelial layer, which is exposed towards the vessel lumen [1]. Before aspirated NPs encounter this cellular air–blood barrier, they impinge on the

• vitro mono- and complex coculture models (MC and CC) of the air–blood barrier. As alveolar epithelial cells we used A549 and ISO-HAS-1 as microvascular endothelial cells in a coculture model. To evaluate in what way and to what extent different aSNP-surface functionalisations play a role in their

• surfactant substitution and originated from bovine alveolar lavage. It is composed of surfactant proteins SP-B and SP-C as well as phospholipids. It was suspended in PBS (phosphate-buffered saline) at a concentration of 40 mg/mL. Cell culture: ISO-HAS-1 (human microvascular endothelial cell line, originated

A surface acoustic wave-driven micropump for particle uptake investigation under physiological flow conditions in very small volumes

• Florian G. Strobl,
• Dominik Breyer,
• Phillip Link,
• Adriano A. Torrano,
• Christoph Bräuchle,
• Matthias F. Schneider and
• Achim Wixforth

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 414–419, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.41

• rates over the whole physiological range in sample volumes as small as 200 μL can be achieved. A precise characterization method for the induced flow profile is presented and the influence of flow on the uptake of Pt-decorated CeO2 particles by endothelial cells (HMEC-1) is demonstrated. Under

• , experiences a force of approximately 77 pN [5]. Finally, in many studies, endothelial cells are of special interest due to their outstanding role regarding the distribution of nanoparticles by the vascular system. Hence, another important issue is that a static medium is certainly not a physiological

• surrounding for these cells, which are exposed in vivo to shear rates of up to 3000 s−1 [6]. It was recently shown that the glycocalix of endothelial cells is substantially reorganized under shear [7] and several effects of shear stress on cellular uptake mechanisms have been reported [8][9][10]. One solution

Comparative evaluation of the impact on endothelial cells induced by different nanoparticle structures and functionalization

• Lisa Landgraf,
• Ines Müller,
• Peter Ernst,
• Miriam Schäfer,
• Christina Rosman,
• Isabel Schick,
• Oskar Köhler,
• Hartmut Oehring,
• Vladimir V. Breus,
• Thomas Basché,
• Carsten Sönnichsen,
• Wolfgang Tremel and
• Ingrid Hilger

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 300–312, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.28

• better insight into general rules determining the biocompatibility of gold, Janus and semiconductor (quantum dot) nanoparticles. Endothelial cells were subject of this study, since blood is the first barrier after intravenous nanoparticle application. In particular, stronger effects on the viability of

• endothelial cells were found for nanoparticles with an elongated shape in comparison to spherical ones. Furthermore, a positively charged nanoparticle surface (NH2, CyA) leads to the strongest reduction in cell viability, whereas neutral and negatively charged nanoparticles are highly biocompatible to

• endothelial cells. These findings are attributed to a rapid internalization of the NH2-functionalized nanoparticles in combination with the damage of intracellular membranes. Interestingly, the endocytotic pathway seems to be a size-dependent process whereas nanoparticles with a size of 20 nm are internalized

Oxygen-plasma-modified biomimetic nanofibrous scaffolds for enhanced compatibility of cardiovascular implants

• Anna Maria Pappa,
• Varvara Karagkiozaki,
• Silke Krol,
• Spyros Kassavetis,
• Dimitris Konstantinou,
• Charalampos Pitsalidis,
• Lazaros Tzounis,
• Nikos Pliatsikas and
• Stergios Logothetidis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 254–262, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.24

• case of cardiovascular implants, though, the successful revascularization after implantation remains an unmet clinical problem [11]. This implies that endothelial cells must properly attach and migrate into the surface of the implanted material in order to form an appropriate network that will enable

The distribution and degradation of radiolabeled superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles and quantum dots in mice

• Denise Bargheer,
• Artur Giemsa,
• Barbara Freund,
• Markus Heine,
• Christian Waurisch,
• Gordon M. Stachowski,
• Stephen G. Hickey,
• Alexander Eychmüller,
• Jörg Heeren and
• Peter Nielsen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 111–123, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.11

• the Zn pool was observed. Confocal microscopy of rat liver cryosections (prepared 2 h after intravenous injection of polymer-coated Qdots) revealed a colocalization with markers for Kupffer cells and liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSEC), but not with hepatocytes. In J774 macrophages, fluorescent

• cells was warranted. Therefore, polymer-coated Qdots were injected and the mice were observed two hours after intravenous injection into the tail vein and cryosections of the liver were prepared (Figure 9). It is well-established that liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) carry out a scavenger

• function by expressing several types of scavenger receptors and that Kupffer cells (KCs) belong to the family of macrophages and form part of the reticuloendothelial system. Thus, the sections were analyzed by immunofluorescence and stained for hepatic endothelial cells and Kupffer cells, which are known

Synthesis of boron nitride nanotubes and their applications

• Saban Kalay,
• Zehra Yilmaz,
• Ozlem Sen,
• Melis Emanet,
• Emine Kazanc and
• Mustafa Çulha

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 84–102, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.9

• of nanomedicine. The covalent grafting of BNNTs with human transferrin, linked through a carbamide bond, was reported [67]. The transferrin–BNNTs were tested on primary human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) to investigate their cellular uptake. It was concluded that the functionalization of

The fate of a designed protein corona on nanoparticles in vitro and in vivo

• Denise Bargheer,
• Julius Nielsen,
• Gabriella Gébel,
• Markus Heine,
• Sunhild C. Salmen,
• Roland Stauber,
• Horst Weller,
• Joerg Heeren and
• Peter Nielsen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 36–46, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.5

• phagocytes such as Kupffer cells in the liver. We found earlier by electron microscopy of murine liver tissues after i.v. injection of the polymer coated SPIO that these monodisperse iron cores are present in endosomal structures of Kupffer cells and liver sinusoidal endothelial cells [38]. These negative

Functionalized polystyrene nanoparticles as a platform for studying bio–nano interactions

• Cornelia Loos,
• Tatiana Syrovets,
• Anna Musyanovych,
• Volker Mailänder,
• Katharina Landfester,
• G. Ulrich Nienhaus and
• Thomas Simmet

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2403–2412, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.250

• over positively charged ones may be unique. Thus, non-phagocytic cells, such as fibroblasts and endothelial cells, took up significantly more positively charged Au NPs than negatively charged Au NPs [47]. This emphasizes that the uptake of nanoparticles is highly cell type-dependent and the expression

• THP-1 after longer incubation time (Figure 4 and [41]). Similarly, other authors did observe no cytotoxicity of PS-COOH in ovarian cancer and endothelial cells [48][49]. PS-NH2 particles not only inhibited the proliferation of THP-1 cells but after three days of induced exposure of phosphatidyl serine

Coating with luminal gut-constituents alters adherence of nanoparticles to intestinal epithelial cells

• Heike Sinnecker,
• Katrin Ramaker and
• Andreas Frey

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2308–2315, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.239

• of three experiments). Schematic model of possible interaction mechanisms between differently sized NPs and endothelial cell surface. A: Non-specific binding of “naked” small NPs to outer surface structures and membrane components; B: Decreased non-specific binding of small NPs after “passivation

Biocompatibility of cerium dioxide and silicon dioxide nanoparticles with endothelial cells

• Claudia Strobel,
• Martin Förster and
• Ingrid Hilger

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1795–1807, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.190

• markedly exposed to them in their everyday life. Once passing biological barriers, these nanoparticles are expected to interact with endothelial cells, leading to systemic alterations with distinct influences on human health. In the present study we observed the metabolic impact of differently sized CeO2

• (8 nm; 35 nm) and SiO2 nanoparticles (117 nm; 315 nm) on immortalized human microvascular (HMEC-1) and primary macrovascular endothelial cells (HUVEC), with particular focus on the CeO2 nanoparticles. The characterization of the CeO2 nanoparticles in cell culture media with varying serum content

• detectable. In general, the effects of the investigated nanoparticles on endothelial cells were rather insignificant, since the alterations on the metabolic cell activity became visible at a nanoparticle concentration that is by far higher than those expected to occur in the in vivo situation (CeO2

Precise quantification of silica and ceria nanoparticle uptake revealed by 3D fluorescence microscopy

• Adriano A. Torrano and
• Christoph Bräuchle

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1616–1624, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.173

• combines the advantages of confocal fluorescence microscopy with fast and precise semi-automatic image analysis. In this work we present how this method was applied to investigate the impact of 310 nm silica nanoparticles on human vascular endothelial cells (HUVEC) in comparison to a cancer cell line

• with human microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC-1). These small nanoparticles formed agglomerates in biological medium, and the particles that were in effective contact with cells had a mean diameter of 417 nm and 316 nm, respectively. A significant particle size-dependent effect was observed after 48

• [21]. Next, the nanoparticles will be in contact with endothelial cells lining the inner surface of our blood vessel system [22][23]. Endothelial cells play a crucial role in many physiological processes and an altered endothelial cell function can be found in innumerous diseases of the cardiovascular

Silica nanoparticles are less toxic to human lung cells when deposited at the air–liquid interface compared to conventional submerged exposure

• Alicja Panas,
• Andreas Comouth,
• Harald Saathoff,
• Thomas Leisner,
• Marco Al-Rawi,
• Michael Simon,
• Gunnar Seemann,
• Olaf Dössel,
• Sonja Mülhopt,
• Hanns-Rudolf Paur,
• Susanne Fritsch-Decker,
• Carsten Weiss and
• Silvia Diabaté

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1590–1602, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.171

• A549, THP-1, mast and endothelial cells reacted more sensitive under classical submerged conditions with respect to release of IL-8 and production of ROS [10]. Therefore, more NPs with different chemistries and sizes as well as different cell culture models need to be assessed in order to either

Current state of laser synthesis of metal and alloy nanoparticles as ligand-free reference materials for nano-toxicological assays

• Christoph Rehbock,
• Jurij Jakobi,
• Lisa Gamrad,
• Selina van der Meer,
• Daniela Tiedemann,
• Ulrike Taylor,
• Wilfried Kues,
• Detlef Rath and
• Stephan Barcikowski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1523–1541, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.165

• reported to be cytotoxic [123][124], NiTi alloy nanoparticles tend to show no significant adverse effects. This was reported for endothelial and smooth muscle cells where nanoparticle concentrations of less than 10 µM were non-toxic [11]. On the contrary, NiTi coatings are even reported to improve the

The cell-type specific uptake of polymer-coated or micelle-embedded QDs and SPIOs does not provoke an acute pro-inflammatory response in the liver

• Markus Heine,
• Alexander Bartelt,
• Oliver T. Bruns,
• Denise Bargheer,
• Artur Giemsa,
• Barbara Freund,
• Ludger Scheja,
• Christian Waurisch,
• Alexander Eychmüller,
• Rudolph Reimer,
• Horst Weller,
• Peter Nielsen and
• Joerg Heeren

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1432–1440, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.155

• type mice, we show that 30 min after injection polymer-coated nanocrystals are primarily taken up by liver sinusoidal endothelial cells. In contrast, by using wild type, Ldlr-/- as well as Apoe-/- mice we show that nanocrystals embedded within lipid micelles are internalized by Kupffer cells and, in a

• pro-inflammatory pathways. In conclusion, internalized nanocrystals at least in mouse liver cells, namely endothelial cells, Kupffer cells and hepatocytes are at least not acutely associated with potential adverse side effects, underlining their potential for biomedical applications. Keywords

• : hepatocytes; inflammation; Kupffer cells; liver sinusoidal endothelial cells; nanoparticle toxicity; nanoparticle uptake; quantum dots; superparamagnetic iron-oxide nanocrystals; Introduction The superior optical properties of QDs compared to organic dyes render them promising candidates for the demands of

Mimicking exposures to acute and lifetime concentrations of inhaled silver nanoparticles by two different in vitro approaches

• Fabian Herzog,
• Kateryna Loza,
• Sandor Balog,
• Martin J. D. Clift,
• Matthias Epple,
• Peter Gehr,
• Alke Petri-Fink and
• Barbara Rothen-Rutishauser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1357–1370, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.149

• proliferation and migration (chemotaxis) both decreased, and the release of cytokines was affected. Increased IL-8 and decreased IL-6 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels were detected at high Ag NP concentrations [65]. These studies however, were obtained with human mesenchymal stem cells

Antimicrobial nanospheres thin coatings prepared by advanced pulsed laser technique

• Alina Maria Holban,
• Valentina Grumezescu,
• Alexandru Mihai Grumezescu,
• Bogdan Ştefan Vasile,
• Roxana Truşcă,
• Rodica Cristescu,
• Gabriel Socol and
• Florin Iordache

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 872–880, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.99

• ) bacteria strains. Moreover, the obtained nano-coatings showed a good biocompatibility and facilitated the normal development of human endothelial cells. These nanosystems may be used as efficient alternatives in treating and preventing bacterial infections. Keywords: antimicrobial; chitosan; magnetite

• secondary electron beams with energies of 30 keV on samples covered with a thin gold layer. Cell viability Human endothelial cells (EAhy926 cell line, ATCC, USA) were grown in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) culture medium containing 10% Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS), and 1% penicillin and neomycin

• (Sigma Aldrich, St. Louis, MO, USA). For cell proliferation and viability CellTiter96 Non-Radioactive Cell Proliferation Assay, (Promega, Madison, USA) was used. Endothelial cells were seeded in a 96-well plate at a density of 5 × 103 cells/well in DMEM medium, supplemented with 10% FBS, and incubated