Differences in the Cell Type-Specific Toxicity of Diamond Nanoparticles to Endothelial Cells Depending on the Exposure of the Cells to Nanoparticles

Mateusz Wierzbicki,1 Katarzyna Zawadzka,1 Barbara Wójcik,1 Sławomir Jaworski,1 Barbara Strojny,1 Agnieszka Ostrowska,1 Artur Małolepszy,2 Marta Mazurkiewicz-Pawlicka,2 Ewa Sawosz1 1Department of Nanobiotechnology, Institute of Biology, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Warsaw, 02-786, Poland; 2Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology, Warsaw, 00-654, PolandCorrespondence: Mateusz Wierzbicki, Department of Nanobiotechnology, Institute of Biology, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Ciszewskiego 8, Warsaw, 02-786, Poland, Tel +48 22 5936676, Email mateusz_wierzbicki@sggw.edu.plIntroduction: Diamond nanoparticles are considered to be one of the most cytocompatible carbon nanomaterials; however, their toxicity varies significantly depending on the analysed cell types. The aim was to investigate the specific sensitivity of endothelial cells to diamond nanoparticles dependent on exposure to nanoparticles.Methods: Diamond nanoparticles were characterized with Raman spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). Toxicity of diamond nanoparticles was assessed for endothelial cells (HUVEC), human mammary epithelial cells (HMEC) and HS-5 cell line. The effect of diamond nanoparticles on the level of ROS, NO, NADPH and protein synthesis of angiogenesis-related proteins of endothelial cells was evaluated.Results and Discussion: Our studies demonstrated severe cell type-specific toxicity of diamond nanoparticles to endothelial cells (HUVEC) depending on nanoparticle surface interaction with cells. Furthermore, we have assessed the effect on cytotoxicity of the bioconjugation of nanoparticles with a peptide containing the RGD motive and a serum protein corona. Our study suggests that the mechanical interaction of diamond nanoparticles with the endothelial cell membranes and the endocytosis of nanoparticles lead to the depletion of NADPH, resulting in an intensive synthesi