Université de Fribourg

Elucidating the potential biological impact of cellulose nanocrystals

Camarero-Espinosa, Sandra ; Endes, Carola ; Mueller, Silvana ; Petri-Fink, Alke ; Rothen-Rutishauser, Barbara ; Weder, Christoph ; Clift, Martin James David ; Foster, E. Johan

In: Fibers, 2016, vol. 4, no. 3, p. 21

Cellulose nanocrystals exhibit an interesting combination of mechanical properties and physical characteristics, which make them potentially useful for a wide range of consumer applications. However, as the usage of these bio-based nanofibers increases, a greater understanding of human exposure addressing their potential health issues should be gained. The aim of this perspective is to...

Université de Fribourg

Fate of cellulose nanocrystal aerosols deposited on the lung cell surface in vitro

Endes, Carola ; Mueller, Silvana ; Kinnear, Calum ; Vanhecke, Dimitri ; Foster, E. Johan ; Petri-Fink, Alke ; Weder, Christoph ; Clift, Martin J. D. ; Rothen-Rutishauser, Barbara

In: Biomacromolecules, 2015, vol. 16, no. 4, p. 1267–1275

When considering the inhalation of high-aspect ratio nanoparticles (HARN), the characterization of their specific interaction with lung cells is of fundamental importance to help categorize their potential hazard. The aim of the present study was to assess the interaction of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) with a multicellular in vitro model of the epithelial airway barrier following realistic...

Université de Fribourg

Avoiding drying-artifacts in transmission electron microscopy: Characterizing the size and colloidal state of nanoparticles

Michen, Benjamin ; Geers, Christoph ; Vanhecke, Dimitri ; Endes, Carola ; Rothen-Rutishauser, Barbara ; Balog, Sandor ; Petri-Fink, Alke

In: Scientific Reports, 2015, vol. 5, p. 9793

Standard transmission electron microscopy nanoparticle sample preparation generally requires the complete removal of the suspending liquid. Drying often introduces artifacts, which can obscure the state of the dispersion prior to drying and preclude automated image analysis typically used to obtain number-weighted particle size distribution. Here we present a straightforward protocol for...

Université de Fribourg

An in vitro testing strategy towards mimicking the inhalation of high aspect ratio nanoparticles

Endes, Carola ; Schmid, Otmar ; Kinnear, Calum ; Mueller, Silvana ; Camarero-Espinosa, Sandra ; Vanhecke, Dimitri ; Foster, E. Johan ; Petri-Fink, Alke ; Rothen-Rutishauser, Barbara ; Weder, Christoph ; Clift, Martin J.D.

In: Particle and Fibre Toxicology, 2015, vol. 11, no. 1, p. 40

The challenge remains to reliably mimic human exposure to high aspect ratio nanoparticles (HARN) via inhalation. Sophisticated, multi-cellular in vitro models are a particular advantageous solution to this issue, especially when considering the need to provide realistic and efficient alternatives to invasive animal experimentation for HARN hazard assessment. By incorporating a systematic test-bed...

Université de Fribourg

A comparative study of different in vitro lung cell culture systems to assess the most beneficial tool for screening the potential adverse effects of carbon nanotubes

Clift, Martin J. D. ; Endes, Carola ; Vanhecke, Dimitri ; Wick, Peter ; Gehr, Peter ; Schins, Roel P. F. ; Petri-Fink, Alke ; Rothen-Rutishauser, Barbara

In: Toxicological Sciences, 2014, vol. 137, no. 1, p. 55-64

To determine the potential inhalatory risk posed by carbon nanotubes (CNTs), a tier-based approach beginning with an in vitro assessment must be adopted. The purpose of this study therefore was to compare 4 commonly used in vitro systems of the human lung (human blood monocyte-derived macrophages [MDM] and monocyte-derived dendritic cells [MDDC], 16HBE14o- epithelial cells, and...

Université de Fribourg

Can the Ames test provide an insight into nano-object mutagenicity? Investigating the interaction between nano-objects and bacteria

Clift, Martin J. D. ; Raemy, David O. ; Endes, Carola ; Ali, Zulqurnain ; Lehmann, Andrea D. ; Brandenberger, Christina ; Petri-Fink, Alke ; Wick, Peter ; Parak, Wolfgang J. ; Gehr, Peter ; Schins, Roel P. F. ; Rothen-Rutishauser, Barbara

In: Nanotoxicology, 2013, vol. 7, no. 8, p. 1373–1385

The aim of this study was to assess the interaction of a series of well characterised nano-objects with the Gram negative bacterium Salmonella typhimurium, and how such an interaction may relate to the potential mutagenicity of nano-objects. Transmission electron microscopy showed that nano-objects (Au-PMA-ATTO NPs, CeO₂ NPs, SWCNTs and MWCNTs), as well as CAFs entered S....

Université de Fribourg

Risk assessment of released cellulose nanocrystals – mimicking inhalatory exposure

Endes, Carola ; Müller, S. ; Schmid, O. ; Vanhecke, Dimitri ; Foster, E. Johan ; Petri-Fink, Alke ; Rothen-Rutishauser, Barbara ; Weder, Christoph ; Clift, Martin J. D.

In: Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 2013, vol. 429, no. 1, p. 012008

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) exhibit advantageous chemical and mechanical properties that render them attractive for a wide range of applications. During the life-cycle of CNC containing materials the nanocrystals could be released and become airborne, posing a potential inhalatory exposure risk towards humans. Absent reliable and dose-controlled models that mimic this exposure in situ is a...