Graphene oxide–chloroquine conjugate induces DNA damage in A549 lung cancer cells through autophagy modulation

• Braham Dutt Arya,
• Sandeep Mittal,
• Prachi Joshi,
• Alok Kumar Pandey,
• Jaime E. Ramirez-Vick,
• Govind Gupta and
• Surinder P. Singh

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 316–332, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.24

• -damage response. GO–Chl causes loss of plasma membrane integrity, cell cycle arrest, and significant genotoxicity in A549 cells. Further, elevated expression of key autophagy proteins beclin-1, ATG-7, LC-3-I/II, and SQSTM1/p62 reveal that inhibition of autophagy plays a crucial role in regulating DDR

• capabilities of cancer cells. The results indicate that the interplay between DDR and autophagy pathways may open new paradigms for developing effective combinatorial nanoscale drug systems against multidrug-resistance cancers. Keywords: A549 cells; autophagy; chloroquine; DNA damage; graphene oxide

• exposure to starch-capped silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) [11]. Gemcitabine-encapsulated poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles have been shown to enhance cell death in chemoresistant PANC1 cells, human pancreatic epithelial carcinoma cells [12]. Also, TiO2 nanoparticles can sensitize A549 cells

Polymer lipid hybrid nanoparticles for phytochemical delivery: challenges, progress, and future prospects

• Iqra Rahat,
• Pooja Yadav,
• Aditi Singhal,
• Mohammad Fareed,
• Jaganathan Raja Purushothaman,
• Mohammed Aslam,
• Raju Balaji,
• Sonali Patil-Shinde and
• Md. Rizwanullah

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1473–1497, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.118

Curcumin-loaded albumin submicron particles with potential as a cancer therapy: an in vitro study

• Nittiya Suwannasom,
• Netsai Sriaksorn,
• Chutamas Thepmalee,
• Krissana Khoothiam,
• Ausanai Prapan,
• Hans Bäumler and
• Chonthida Thephinlap

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 1127–1140, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.93

• A549 cells, HepG2 cells, and RAW264.7 treated with CUR encapsulated in albumin nanoparticles at 100 µg/mL decreased by only 50%, 30%, and 30%, respectively. However, the cell viability after treatment with CUR at the same concentration decreased to less than 7% in all kinds of cells in a 24 h period

Antibody-conjugated nanoparticles for target-specific drug delivery of chemotherapeutics

• Mamta Kumari,
• Amitabha Acharya and
• Praveen Thaggikuppe Krishnamurthy

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 912–926, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.75

• the receptor-mediated uptake and internalization of NPs in A549 cells. They clearly indicated a significant disparity between in vivo and in vitro outcomes of NP targeting efficacy in the presence of a protein corona [80]. Su et al. reported that protein corona formation alters the active and passive

Carboxylic acids and light interact to affect nanoceria stability and dissolution in acidic aqueous environments

• Matthew L. Hancock,
• Eric A. Grulke and
• Robert A. Yokel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 762–780, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.63

• , distribution, and toxicity of nanoceria within biological systems. Cellular uptake studies of nanoceria in lung adenocarcinoma (A549) cells favored particles with a negative zeta potential. However, positively charged particles resulted in greater bovine serum albumin adsorption. This suggests that surface

Biomimetic chitosan with biocomposite nanomaterials for bone tissue repair and regeneration

• Se-Kwon Kim,
• Sesha Subramanian Murugan,
• Pandurang Appana Dalavi,
• Sebanti Gupta,
• Sukumaran Anil,
• Gi Hun Seong and
• Jayachandran Venkatesan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1051–1067, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.92

• graphene oxide/hydroxyapatite/chitosan composites was verified by an MTT assay using A549 cells. The results revealed that the cell viability of A549 cells exceeded 23%, showing that the composites slowed osteosarcoma progression [71]. Graphene oxide-modified chitosan/polyvinylpyrrolidone developed

Gelatin nanoparticles with tunable mechanical properties: effect of crosslinking time and loading

• Agnes-Valencia Weiss,
• Daniel Schorr,
• Julia K. Metz,
• Metin Yildirim,
• Saeed Ahmad Khan and
• Marc Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 778–787, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.68

• nanoparticles measured by MTT assay. (A) A549 cells incubated with blank GNPs, (B) hAELVi incubated with blank GNPs, (C) A549 cells incubated with FITC-dextran-loaded GNPs, and (D) hAELVi incubated with FITC-dextran-loaded GNPs. No concentration- or time-dependent cell viability reduction below 80% was

The role of deep eutectic solvents and carrageenan in synthesizing biocompatible anisotropic metal nanoparticles

• Nabojit Das,
• Akash Kumar and
• Raja Gopal Rayavarapu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 924–938, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.69

• -directing surfactant [60]. They carried out an in vitro cytotoxicity study exposing Hep-G2 and A549 cells to CTAB- and C12EDMAB-capped gold nanorods. The researchers observed a considerable difference in cell viability at the same concentration levels. Much earlier, a chemical method introduced by Chenxu Yu

The impact of molecular tumor profiling on the design strategies for targeting myeloid leukemia and EGFR/CD44-positive solid tumors

• Nikola Geskovski,
• Nadica Matevska-Geshkovska,
• Simona Dimchevska Sazdovska,
• Marija Glavas Dodov,
• Kristina Mladenovska and
• Katerina Goracinova

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 375–401, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.31

• chitosan with the carboxylic groups of poly(glutamic acid). EDC/NHS chemistry was used for conjugating the mAbs on the surface of the nanoscale carriers. The cross-linked nanoparticles showed superior antiproliferative activity compared to NPs without ligands. In vitro cell culture studies on A549 cells

Differences in surface chemistry of iron oxide nanoparticles result in different routes of internalization

• Barbora Svitkova,
• Vlasta Zavisova,
• Veronika Nemethova,
• Martina Koneracka,
• Miroslava Kretova,
• Filip Razga,
• Monika Ursinyova and
• Alena Gabelova

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 270–281, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.22

• understood yet. Herein, we present a mechanistic study of cellular internalization pathways of two magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (MNPs) differing in surface chemistry into A549 cells. The MNP uptake was investigated in the presence of different inhibitors of endocytosis and monitored by spectroscopic and

• , and magnetism) differing only in surface modification, BSA-SO-MNPs and PEG-SO-MNPs, have been synthesized to study the effect of surface modification on cellular internalization. Human lung A549 cells were selected as a model system to investigate the uptake of surface-modified MNPs. These cells are a

• delivery through the inhalation of nanoparticles is a promising treatment modality against lung cancers conferring high pulmonary drug concentrations while minimizing the side effects [25]. The internalized amount of the tested MNPs in A549 cells in the presence of compounds that inhibit either endocytosis

Luminescent gold nanoclusters for bioimaging applications

• Nonappa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 533–546, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.42

• diameter, and the luminescence increased dramatically upon framework formation. Interestingly, the quantum yield was increased from 2.5% for [Au25(SG)18] to 25% for AuNCFs. Cell counting kit 8 (CCK‐8) assay and trypan blue tests with NIH3T3 and A549 cells showed no significant cytotoxicity in vitro (Figure

Nanoparticles based on the zwitterionic pillar[5]arene and Ag⁺: synthesis, self-assembly and cytotoxicity in the human lung cancer cell line A549

• Dmitriy N. Shurpik,
• Denis A. Sevastyanov,
• Pavel V. Zelenikhin,
• Pavel L. Padnya,
• Vladimir G. Evtugyn,
• Yuriy N. Osin and
• Ivan I. Stoikov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 421–431, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.33

• did not show statistically significant cytotoxic activity against A549 cells over the range of studied concentrations (3–160 μM) (Figure 5a). Characterization of changes in the viability of A549 cells under the action of the pillar[5]arenes was performed by the MTT test [47]. Since in the case of

• concentration of silver ions for A549 cells was 28.4 μM. The IC50 Ag+ value, determined by us for A549 cells, is consistent with the literature data [7], where it was shown that the value of this indicator for eukaryotic cells is in the range of 9–37 μM. Based on the results obtained, silver ion concentrations

• of 30 and 40 μM were used for further work to compare the toxicity of the 3/Ag+ nanoparticles and Ag+. The viability of A549 cells in the presence of 3/Ag+ nanoparticles (c(3) = 3 μM, c(AgNO3) = 30 μM) was significantly higher than the values of this indicator when processing only Ag+ and 4/Ag+ (c(4

Poly(1-vinylimidazole) polyplexes as novel therapeutic gene carriers for lung cancer therapy

• Gayathri Kandasamy,
• Elena N. Danilovtseva,
• Vadim V. Annenkov and
• Uma Maheswari Krishnan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 354–369, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.26

• -dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium) assay (Cell Titer 96 Aqueous one solution, Promega, USA). A number of 4000 A549 cells per well was cultured in a 96-well plate at 37 °C in 5% CO2. Once the cells became confluent, the medium was removed and washed with phosphate

• incubated for 48 h. The cell viability was then assessed using the MTS reagent as described above. Internalization studies: Internalization of the polyplex in A549 cells was studied with Cy3 fluorophore-tagged siRNA. A549 cells at a seeding density of 105 cells/well were cultured on a cover slip in a 6-well

• cells were stained with Hoechst 33258 and imaged with laser scanning confocal microscopy (Olympus FV1000, Tokyo, Japan). Gene expression analysis: VEGF gene silencing was determined using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR, AG22331, Eppendorf, Germany). About 3 × 105 A549 cells were

Interactions at the cell membrane and pathways of internalization of nano-sized materials for nanomedicine

• Valentina Francia,
• Daphne Montizaan and
• Anna Salvati

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 338–353, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.25

• epithelial A549 cells, for both nanoparticle sizes, the uptake was not dependent on actin [132]. Unfortunately, so far, only a few studies have investigated in a systematic way how different cell types internalize nanoparticles of different size, making it difficult to draw conclusions [132][133][134

Synthesis and potent cytotoxic activity of a novel diosgenin derivative and its phytosomes against lung cancer cells

• Liang Xu,
• Dekang Xu,
• Ziying Li,
• Yu Gao and
• Haijun Chen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1933–1942, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.189

• consideration of the diverse biological activities of Di, researchers are interested in modifying the steroid structure of Di to obtain Di derivatives that have more efficient anticancer activities. 1-Phenyl-(1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methoxy diosgenin showed an IC50 value against A549 cells that was about a third

• (G2). Di induced cell cycle arrest in different phases in different cancer cells. It was reported that Di could induce G2/M cell cycle arrest in liver cancer cells [21], arrest SCC cells at the sub-G1 phase [22], and impede cell cycle progression in the G0/G1 phase in A549 cells [23]. To determine the

• antiproliferative mechanisms of Di and P2, the effects of Di and P2 on cell cycle distributions were examined in A549 and PC9 cells. As shown in Figure 2B, Di and P2 could induce A549 and PC9 cell cycle arrest in G0/G1 phase (at a concentration 20 μM for A549 cells and 30 μM for PC9 cells for 48 h). To our surprise

The systemic effect of PEG-nGO-induced oxidative stress in vivo in a rodent model

• Qura Tul Ain,
• Samina Hyder Haq,
• Abeer Alshammari,
• Moudhi Abdullah Al-Mutlaq and
• Muhammad Naeem Anjum

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 901–911, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.91

• and found that treatment with GO can extract phospholipid and cholesterol from the plasma membrane of human alveolar epithelial A549 cells, producing surface pores [50][51]. This effect greatly reduced the cell viability and results in cellular damage and apoptosis, and long-term exposure could cause

Characterization and influence of hydroxyapatite nanopowders on living cells

• Przemyslaw Oberbek,
• Tomasz Bolek,
• Adrian Chlanda,
• Seishiro Hirano,
• Sylwia Kusnieruk,
• Julia Rogowska-Tylman,
• Ganna Nechyporenko,
• Viktor Zinchenko,
• Wojciech Swieszkowski and
• Tomasz Puzyn

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 3079–3094, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.286

• attained, i.e., every 2–5 days. CHO cells were cultured in F-12 nutrient mixture (Life Technologies Corporation). BEAS-2B and A549 cells were cultured in DMEM (Dulbecco's MEM, Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd). J744.1 cells were cultured in RPMI 1640 medium with 2 mM of glutamine (Life Technologies

• seen at 300 µg/mL. For A549 cells, no toxicity was noted in the tested concentration range and there was no strong cell-growth inhibition. BEAS-2B cells were the least affected by the presence of HAp nanoparticles, and no strong growth inhibitions were noted in this case as well. A toxic effect on the

• , which were not carried out in this study. The small impact of HAp nanoobjects on A549 cells is probably connected to their cancerous nature and lower intracellular pH value [77]. Even after a high uptake of HAp particles, A549 could dissolve hydroxyapatite more efficiently and safely than the other

Enhanced antineoplastic/therapeutic efficacy using 5-fluorouracil-loaded calcium phosphate nanoparticles

• Shanid Mohiyuddin,
• Saba Naqvi and
• Gopinath Packirisamy

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2499–2515, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.233

• -transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The antineoplastic potential of the CaP@5-FU NPs against colorectal and lung cancer cells was reported. The CaP@5-FU NPs were found to inhibit half the population (IC50) of lung adenocarcinoma (A549) cells at 32 μg/mL and colorectal (HCT

• extended using free drug (no NPs) and the CaP@5-FU NPs sample at the same concentration and time as previously mentioned. In the free drug test (i.e., 5-FU), we observed a great reduction in cell viability in both cancer models (HCT-15 and A549 cells), whereas it was less effective in the normal cell line

Involvement of two uptake mechanisms of gold and iron oxide nanoparticles in a co-exposure scenario using mouse macrophages

• Dimitri Vanhecke,
• Dagmar A. Kuhn,
• Dorleta Jimenez de Aberasturi,
• Sandor Balog,
• Ana Milosevic,
• Dominic Urban,
• Diana Peckys,
• Niels de Jonge,
• Wolfgang J. Parak,
• Alke Petri-Fink and
• Barbara Rothen-Rutishauser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2396–2409, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.239

• cells such as cell type [10][11], surface charge [12][13] and NP size [14][15]. Clathrin- and caveolin-mediated endocytosis are the main uptake mechanisms for PEGylated AuNPs (15 nm) into A549 cells, whereas non PEGylated, citrate-stabilized AuNPs were mainly taken up by micropinocytosis [16

• shown that the uptake of TiO2NP in A549 cells involves a clathrin-dependent pathway, whereas in H1299 a caveolae- and clathrin-independent pathway was observed [17]. Another uptake pathway for NP has been described recently by Freese et al., who observed AuNPs in the size range of 23–73 nm to enter

Bright fluorescent silica-nanoparticle probes for high-resolution STED and confocal microscopy

• Isabella Tavernaro,
• Christian Cavelius,
• Henrike Peuschel and
• Annette Kraegeloh

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1283–1296, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.130

• , but indicate a much higher photostability and brightness. As revealed by dynamic light scattering and ζ-potential measurements, all particle suspensions were stable in water and cell culture medium. In addition, uptake studies on A549 cells were performed, using confocal and stimulated emission

• A549 cells, as well as to quantify the number of internalised nanoparticles in these cells [45][46][47]. In another study small silica nanoparticles with diameters of 25 and 40 nm and modified with Atto647N dye were used to investigate the uptake in macrophages [48]. Herein we present the improved

• particles as fluorescent probes in confocal and STED imaging was studied. For this investigation, A549 cells as model for alveolar epithelial type II cells were exposed to FD25_Atto647N and FD25_Star635 nanoparticles at a concentration of 10 µg SiO2 per mL. Confocal imaging revealed that the cells took up

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

• epithelial A549 cells due to H2O2 and OH radicals caused by Cr(VI) [74]. From this prospective, the unclear mechanism behind the effect of NPs on the tight junction should never be considered to have only one reason, i.e., either the phosphorylation of core proteins or the oxidative stress on those proteins

PLGA nanoparticles as a platform for vitamin D-based cancer therapy

• Maria J. Ramalho,
• Joana A. Loureiro,
• Bárbara Gomes,
• Manuela F. Frasco,
• Manuel A. N. Coelho and
• M. Carmo Pereira

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1306–1318, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.135

• cell line A549. Encapsulated calcitriol retained its biological activity, reducing the cell growth. Cytotoxicity assays demonstrated that encapsulation of calcitriol enhanced its inhibitory effect on cell growth at a concentration of 2.4 μM for the S2-013 cells (91%) and for A549 cells (70%) comparared

• calcitriol remained stable at release conditions throughout the experiment period. Cellular uptake of PLGA NPs and calcitriol-induced morphological changes The internalization of fluorescent C6–calcitriol–PLGA NPs by S2-013, hTERT-HPNE and A549 cells was evaluated by confocal microscopy. Counterstaining of

• uptake (Figure 3G). As shown in Figure 3H, after 2 h of incubation, the nanoparticles were internalized by A549 cells. It is also possible to observe some colocalization of C6-PLGA NPs with the red-stained late endosomes or lysosomes (yellow color, in Figure 3H). Quantitative analysis with the ImageJ

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

• depend on the chemical surface properties of the aSNPs. Reactive silanol groups seem to play a crucial role for an augmented toxicity of aSNPs. The A549 cells in the coculture seem to be more robust towards aSNPs, which might be a result of a higher differentiation and polarization state due the longer

• ). The A549 cells were seeded with a density of 3.2 × 104 cells/well on 96-well plates and 7.7 × 104 cells/well on ibidi µ-slides (ibiTreat, tissue culture treated, #80826) in RPMI 1640 medium (Gibco) with GlutaMaxTM supplemented with 10% FCS and Pen/Strep (100 U/100 µg/mL) and cultivated at 37 °C, 5

• with the substrate reagent. No interferences occurred within the chosen NP-concentration range. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production: A549 cells were seeded in monoculture on 96-well plates as described in the section above (monocultures for experimental procedures). Prior to NP-exposure cells were

Tailoring the ligand shell for the control of cellular uptake and optical properties of nanocrystals

• Johannes Ostermann,
• Christian Schmidtke,
• Christopher Wolter,
• Jan-Philip Merkl,
• Hauke Kloust and
• Horst Weller

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 232–242, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.22

• viability of the cells [25][30]. The properties of a representative selection concerning the cellular uptake was investigated by incubating A549 cells under biologically relevant conditions for up to 4 h and under more radical conditions in serum free media for 20 h and analyzed via confocal microscopy. The

• tested samples and the obtained results are summarized in Table 2. None of the samples showed unspecific adhesion or uptake on A549 cells in serum containing medium after 4 h, although the containers range in a suitable size range between 40 and 80 nm for endocytosis [22]. Even the positively charged

• cells incubated with QDs encapsulated in the smallest PI-b-PEG with the four different functional groups. A general trend for the size dependent interaction between non-charged nanocontainers and A549 cells has already been reported [24]. Thereby an upper limit for encapsulated QDs in a PI-b-PEG of

PVP-coated, negatively charged silver nanoparticles: A multi-center study of their physicochemical characteristics, cell culture and in vivo experiments

• Sebastian Ahlberg,
• Alexandra Antonopulos,
• Jörg Diendorf,
• Ralf Dringen,
• Matthias Epple,
• Rebekka Flöck,
• Wolfgang Goedecke,
• Christina Graf,
• Nadine Haberl,
• Jens Helmlinger,
• Fabian Herzog,
• Frederike Heuer,
• Stephanie Hirn,
• Christian Johannes,
• Stefanie Kittler,
• Manfred Köller,
• Katrin Korn,
• Wolfgang G. Kreyling,
• Fritz Krombach,
• Jürgen Lademann,
• Kateryna Loza,
• Eva M. Luther,
• Marcelina Malissek,
• Martina C. Meinke,
• Daniel Nordmeyer,
• Anne Pailliart,
• Jörg Raabe,
• Fiorenza Rancan,
• Barbara Rothen-Rutishauser,
• Eckart Rühl,
• Carsten Schleh,
• Andreas Seibel,
• Christina Sengstock,
• Lennart Treuel,
• Annika Vogt,
• Katrin Weber and
• Reinhard Zellner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1944–1965, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.205