Nanotechnology is currently receiving considerable attention in various fields of biotechnology. The uptake of nanoparticles by cells for labeling and tracking is a critical process for many biomedical therapeutic applications. However, nanoparticle labeling of porcine hematopoietic cells has not been demonstrated so far. In the present study, silica-coated nanoparticles conjugated with rhodamine B isothiocyanate (SR-RITC) were used to investigate the uptake of nanoparticles by porcine hematopoietic cells. Flow cytometric and confocal microscopic analyses reveled that the cells were efficiently internalized by the silica-coated nanoparticles. Furthermore, biocompatibility tests demonstrated that the SR nanoparticles were not cytotoxic, and they had no impact on proliferation. Our study demonstrates that silica-coated nanoparticles are taken up very rapidly and with high efficiency into porcine hematopoietic cells, with no apparent deleterious effects. Therefore, silica-coated nanoparticles appear to be a promising tool for tracking porcine hematopoietic cells.

ABSTRACT   INTRODUCTION   MATERIALS AND METHODS    Nanoparticles    Porcine Hematopoietic Cells    Flow Cytometry Analysis    Cell Viability and Proliferation Assay    Cellular Distribution of SR Nanoparticles    Statistics Analysis   RESULTS    Determination of SR Nanoparticles Uptake by Porcine Hermatopoietic Cells    Cytotoxicity and Effects of Nanoparticles    Intracellular Uptake of Nanoparticles   DISCUSSION   REFERENCES

• Hyun-Joo Lee(Dept. of Biomedical Science, College of Life Science, CHA University)
• Eun-Ji Park(Dept. of Biomedical Science, College of Life Science, CHA University)
• Yong-Soo Lee(Dept. of Biomedical Science, College of Life Science, CHA University)
• Sung-Won Park(Dept. of Biomedical Science, College of Life Science, CHA University)
• Jae-Hwan Kim(Dept. of Biomedical Science, College of Life Science, CHA University)
• Dong-Ku Kim(Dept. of Biomedical Science, College of Life Science, CHA University) Corresponding author