Université de Fribourg

Integrating silver compounds and nanoparticles into ceria nanocontainers for antimicrobial applications

Gagnon, Jacinthe ; Clift, Martin J. D. ; Vanhecke, Dimitri ; Kuhn, Dagmar Alice ; Weber, P. ; Petri-Fink, Alke ; Rothen-Rutishauser, Barbara ; Fromm, Katharina M.

In: Journal of Materials Chemistry B, 2015, vol. 3, no. 9, p. 1760–1768

Silver compounds and nanoparticles (NPs) are gaining increasing interest in medical applications, specifically in the treatment and prevention of biomaterial-related infections. However, the silver release from these materials, resulting in a limited antimicrobial activity, is often difficult to control. In this paper, ceria nanocontainers were synthesized by a template-assisted method and were...

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

Polyvinyl alcohol as a biocompatible alternative for the passivation of gold nanorods

Kinnear, Calum ; Burnand, David ; Clift, Martin J. D. ; Kilbinger, Andreas F. M. ; Rothen-Rutishauser, Barbara ; Petri-Fink, Alke

In: Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2014, vol. 53, no. 46, p. 12613–12617

The functionalization of gold nanorods (GNRs) with polymers is essential for both their colloidal stability and biocompatibility. However, a bilayer of the toxic cationic surfactant cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) adsorbed on the nanorods complicates this process. Herein, we report on a strategy for the biocompatible functionalization of GNRs with a hydrophobic polymeric precursor,...

Université de Fribourg

Modeling nanoparticle–alveolar epithelial cell interactions under breathing conditions using captive bubble surfactometry

Schürch, David ; Vanhecke, Dimitri ; Clift, Martin J. D. ; Raemy, David ; Aberasturi, Dorleta Jimenez de ; Parak, Wolfgang J. ; Gehr, Peter ; Petri-Fink, Alke ; Rothen-Rutishauser, Barbara

In: Langmuir, 2014, vol. 30, no. 17, p. 4924–4932

Many advances have been made in recent years in cell culture models of the epithelial barrier of the lung from simple monolayers to complex 3-D systems employing different cell types. However, the vast majority of these models still present a static air–liquid interface which is unrealistic given the dynamic nature of breathing. We present here a method where epithelial lung cells are...

Université de Fribourg

Surface charge of polymer coated SPIONs influences the serum protein adsorption, colloidal stability and subsequent cell interaction in vitro

Hirsch, Vera ; Kinnear, Calum ; Moniatte, Marc ; Rothen-Rutishauser, Barbara ; Clift, Martin J. D. ; Fink, Alke

In: Nanoscale, 2013, vol. 5, no. 9, p. 3723-3732

It is known that the nanoparticle–cell interaction strongly depends on the physicochemical properties of the investigated particles. In addition, medium density and viscosity influence the colloidal behaviour of nanoparticles. Here, we show how nanoparticle–protein interactions are related to the particular physicochemical characteristics of the particles, such as their colloidal stability,...