Characterisation of TiO2 nanoparticle dispersion in cell culture media using high-throughput dynamic light scattering
Characterisation of TiO2 nanoparticle
Characterisation of nanoparticle size and distribution in biological environments, and understanding the parameters that affect them, are imperative to accurately assess nanoparticle toxicity. In the case of in vitro studies, nanoparticles must be well-dispersed to ensure uniform dosing. Similarly, for in vivo studies, delivering nanoparticles in a well-dispersed form is necessary for accurate assessment of their toxicity. Based on these considerations, the goal of this investigation was to accurately evaluate the TiO2 nanoparticle dispersion in different cell culture media using the high throughput dynamic light scattering DynaPro plate reader. To improve the dispersion of these nanoparticles, dispersing agents such as bovine serum albumin (BSA) and fetal bovine serum (FBS) were explored. The concentrations for TiO2, BSA, and FBS were 50 μg/mL, 2 mg/mL, and 0.5-5 wt.%, respectively. All measurements were conducted in a 384-well plate at room temperature. To ensure reproducibility, samples were loaded in triplicate and five runs were collected for each well. The spectral view suggested that BSA (2 mg/mL) was an effective dispersing agent in all media but LB and TSB. By contrast, 5 wt.% FBS (equivalent to 2 mg/mL BSA) resulted in highly dispersed TiO2 in all media. No noticeable change in nanoparticle dispersion was observed with FBS concentration decreased to 1 wt.%, which implies that FBS is an effective dispersing agent. In addition to the qualitative analysis, particle size distribution was also calculated using the built-in regularisation algorithm. The figure shows an example of TiO2 particle size distribution in LB, which again confirmed the effectiveness of FBS. Overall, this study demonstrated that the DynaPro is a convenient and effective tool for determining TiO2 nanoparticle size and for evaluating the effects of different dispersing agents more rapidly than conventional “batch” DLS.
Image:
TiO2 particle size distribution in LB calculated by the built-in regularisation algorithm shows the effect of BSA and FBS dispersing agents.
Wyatt Technology Corp.