Thiol-antioxidants interfere with assessing silver nanoparticle cytotoxicity

Author(s)

Ferreira, Luiz A. B. ^[1] ; dos Reis, Samara Bonesso ^[1] ; da Silva, Emanueli do Nascimento ^{[2, 3]} ; Cadore, Solange ^[2] ; Bernardes, Juliana da Silva ^[4] ; Duran, Nelson ^{[5, 6]} ; de Jesus, Marcelo B. ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Estadual Campinas, Nanocell Interact Lab, Dept Biochem & Tissue Biol, Inst Biol, Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Estadual Campinas, Inst Chem, Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Fed Ouro Preto, Dept Chem, Inst Exact & Biol Sci, Ouro Preto, MG - Brazil

^[4] CNPEM, Brazilian Ctr Res Energy & Mat, Campinas - Brazil

^[5] Univ Fed Abc, Nanomed Res Unit Nanomed, Ctr Nat & Human Sci CCNH, Santo Andre, SP - Brazil

^[6] Univ Estadual Campinas, Lab Urogenital Carcinogenesis & Immunotherapy, Dept Struct & Funct Biol, Campinas, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Nanomedicine-Nanotechnology Biology and Medicine; v. 24, FEB 2020.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Many studies have shown that silver nanoparticles (AgNP) induce oxidative stress, and it is commonly assumed that this is the main mechanism of AgNP cytotoxicity. Most of these studies rely on antioxidants to establish this cause-and-effect relationship; nevertheless, details on how these antioxidants interact with the AgNP are often overlooked. This work aimed to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the use of antioxidants with AgNP nanoparticles. Thus, we studied the molecular interaction between the thiol-antioxidants (N-acetyl-L-Cysteine, L-Cysteine, and glutathione) or non-thiol-antioxidants (Trolox) with chemically and biologically synthesized AgNP. Both antioxidants could mitigate ROS production in Huh-7 hepatocarcinoma cells, but only thiol-antioxidants could prevent the cytotoxic effect, directly binding to the AgNP leading to aggregation. Our findings show that data interpretation might not be straightforward when using thiol-antioxidants to study the interactions between metallic nanoparticles and cells. This artifact exemplifies potential pitfalls that could hinder the progress of nanotechnology and the understanding of the nanotoxicity mechanism. (C) 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 15/06134-4 - Multi-User Equipment approved in grant 2014/03002-7: cell imaging multi-mode reader
• Grantee: Marcelo Bispo de Jesus
• Support Opportunities: Multi-user Equipment Program
• FAPESP's process: 14/03002-7 - Internalization and intracellular trafficking of nanoparticles: biological activity and nanotoxicological profile
• Grantee: Marcelo Bispo de Jesus
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants