Effects of water and cell culture media on the physicochemical properties of ZnMgO nanoparticles and their toxicity toward mammalian cells.

ZnMgO nanoparticles have shown potential for medical applications as an efficient antibacterial agent. In this work, we investigate the effect of water and two commonly used cell culture media on the physicochemical properties of ZnMgO nanoparticles in correlation with their cytotoxicity. In vacuum, ZnMgO nanopowder consists of MgO (nanocubes) and ZnO (nanotetrapods and nanorods) particles. Upon exposure to water or the Luria-Bertani solution, ZnO characteristic shapes were not observable while MgO nanocubes transformed into octahedral form. In addition, water caused morphological alternations in form of disordered and fragmented structures. This effect was directly reflected in UV/vis absorption properties of ZnMgO, implying that formation of new states within the band gap of ZnO and redistribution of specific sites on MgO surfaces occurs in the presence of water. In mammalian culture cell medium, ZnMgO nanoparticles were shapeless, agglomerated, and coated with surrounding proteins. Serum albumin was found to adsorb as a major but not the only protein. Adsorbed albumin mainly preserved its α-helix secondary structure. Finally, the cytotoxicity of ZnMgO was shown to strongly depend on the environment: in the presence of serum proteins ZnMgO nanopowder was found to be safe for mammalian cells while highly toxic in a serum-free medium or a medium containing only albumin. Our results demonstrate that nanostructured ZnMgO reaches living cells with modified morphology and surface structure when compared to as-synthesized particles kept in vacuum. In addition, its biocompatibility can be modulated by proteins from biological environment.