Environmental Engineering Reference
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Fig. 7.6 TEM images of untreated control cells: (a) adherent MSCs grown in cell culture inserts,
(b) suspension of MSCs, (c) adherent SK-BR-3 cells cultured on cell culture inserts, (d) suspen-
sion of SK-BR-3 cells
decreased number of mitochondria and occurrence of large vacuoles within the
lysosomal structures.
When fluid 1F (deriving from combustion synthesized nanoparticles) was added
in culture media, most of the SK-BR-3 (
>
90 % of the cells, counted on five
different TEM images) cells appeared without nucleus (as seen on the SEM
image—Fig.
7.5e
) and less of the cytoplasmic structures were evidenced. A
spiral-like concentrically oriented pattern was distinguished within the entire cyto-
plasm, revealing the stress fibers inducing the morphological change of cytoskel-
eton (Fig.
7.7c, d
).
Interestingly, the enucleation phenomenon occurred only in the case of SK-BR-3
tumor cells treated with the fluid deriving from combustion synthesized Fe
3
O
4
nanoparticles, which might indicate a certain degree of toxic selectivity of these
nanoparticles with respect to SK-BR-3 tumor cells. Although the use of superpar-
amagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) in cancer therapy (hyperthermia) has
been widely investigated [
1
-
6
,
8
,
28
-
36
,
153
], no reports were published about the
potential use of combustion synthesized Fe
3
O
4
nanoparticles in cancer therapy due
to their intrinsic selective action on SK-BR-3 tumor cells.
Suspension fixed MSCs treated with the two colloidal suspensions showed the
entire inner architecture disturbed, with large lysosomes accumulating the
nanoparticles, suggesting an accentuated endocytosis process for removal of iron
