Toxicity of iron oxide nanoparticles against osteoblasts

Magnetic nanoparticles have been widely used for tissue repair, magnetic resonance imaging, immunoassays and drug delivery. They are very promising in orthopaedic applications and several magnetic nanoparticles have been exploited for the treatment of orthopaedic disease. Here, we conducted an in vitro study to examine the interaction of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles with human osteoblasts to evaluate the dose-related toxicity of the nanoparticles on osteoblasts. A transmission electron microscope was used to visualise the internalised magnetic nanoparticles in osteoblasts. The CCK-8 results revealed increased cell viability (107.5 % vitality compared with the control group) when co-cultured at a low concentration (20 μg/mL) and decreased cell viability (59.5 % vitality in a concentration of 300 μg/mL and 25.9 % in 500 μg/mL) when co-cultured in high concentrations. The flow cytometric detection revealed similar results with 5.48 % of apoptosis in a concentration of 20 μg/mL, 23.40 % of apoptosis in a concentration of 300 μg/mL and 28.49 % in a concentration of 500 μg/mL. The disrupted cytoskeleton of osteoblasts was also revealed using a laser scanning confocal microscope. We concluded that use of a low concentration of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles is important to avoid damage to osteoblasts.