Predictive Toxicology of Cobalt Nanoparticles and Ions: Comparative In Vitro Study of Different Cellular Models Using Methods of Knowledge Discovery from Data
The toxicological effects of cobalt nanoparticles (Co-NPs) aggregates were examined and compared with those of cobalt ions (Co-ions) using six different cell lines representing lung, liver, kidney, intestine, and the immune system. Dose-response curves were studied in the concentration range of 0.05-1.0 mM, employing 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-Yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide test, neutral red, and Alamar blue as end point assays following exposures for 48 and 72 h. Data analysis and predictive modeling of the obtained data sets were executed by employing a decision tree model (J48), where training and validation were carried out by an iterative process. It was established, as expected, th…
A Quantitative In Vitro Approach to Study the Intracellular Fate of Gold Nanoparticles: From Synthesis to Cytotoxicity
Due to their physico-chemical characteristics, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) seem to be suitable for biomedical and therapeutic applications even if conflicting data on their toxicological profiles are present in literature. In order to better understand if AuNPs could be safe we must consider different biological endpoints such as cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, inflammation and biopersistence. Starting from these considerations, one of the first issues to be assessed is to better understand if AuNPs can be internalized by cells. In this work, we propose a methodological approach to radioactivate AuNPs by neutron activation and the quantification of their internalization by two in vitro cell syst…