Preparation of Lysine-Coated Magnetic Fe2O3 Nanoparticles and Influence on Viability of A549 Lung Cancer Cells

Objective: To explore the effect of lysine-coated oxide magnetic nanoparticles (Lys@MNPs) on viabilityand apoptosis of A549 lung cancer cells.
Methods: Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), vibrating samplemagnetometer (VSM) and Zeta potentiometric analyzer were employed to characterize Lys@MNPs. ThenLys@MNPs and lung cancer A549 cells were co-cultured to study the effect of Lys@MNPs on cell viabilityand apoptosis. The pathway of Lys@MNPs entering A549 cells was detected by TEM and cell imaging by 1.5T MRI.
Results: Lys@MNPs were 10.2 nm in grain diameter, characterized by small size, positive charge, andsuperparamagnetism. Under low-dose concentration of Lys@MNPs (< 40 μg/mL), the survival rate of A549 cellswas decreased but remained higher than 95% while under high-dose concentration (100 μg/mL), the survivalratewas still higher than 80%, which suggested Lys@MNPs had limited influence on the viability of A549 cells,with good biocompatibility and and no induction of apoptosis. Moreover, high affinity for cytomembranes, wasdemonstrated presenting good imaging effects.
Conclusion: Lys@MNPs can be regarded as a good MRI negativecontrast agents, with promising prospects in biomedicine.