Viability and proliferation of endothelial cells upon exposure to GaN nanoparticles

Abstract

Nanotechnology is a rapidly growing and promising field of interest in medicine; however, nanoparticle–cell interactions are not yet fully understood. The goal of this work was to examine the interaction between endothelial cells and gallium nitride (GaN) semi-conductor nanoparticles. Cellular viability, adhesion, proliferation, and uptake of nanoparticles by endothelial cells were investigat-ed. The effect of free GaN nanoparticles versus the effect of growing endothelial cells on GaN functionalized surfaces was exam-ined. To functionalize surfaces with GaN, GaN nanoparticles were synthesized on a sacrificial layer of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparti-cles using hydride vapor phase epitaxy. The uptake of GaN nanoparticles by porcine endothelial cells was strongly dependent upon whether they were fixed to the substrate surface or free floating in the medium. The endothelial cells grown on surfaces functionali-zed with GaN nanoparticles demonstrated excellent adhesion and proliferation, suggesting good biocompatibility of the nanostruc-tured GaN.