Short-term culture of monocytes as an in vitro evaluation system for bionanomaterials designated for medical use.

We studied the feasibility of using a short-term culture of monocytes, isolated from peripheral donor blood, to assess the biological activity of different types of bionanomaterials (BNM): biodegradable polimeric particles, fiber and film substrates of micro- and nano-dimensions, fullerenes (F) and nanodiamonds (ND), which are either currently in use and/or potentially applicable in medicine. Additionally, the effect of creating a protein corona on ND and F particles was investigated. The cellular reduction of (4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) is a well-established tool for assessing the viability/metabolic activity of cells. The scanning electron microscopy assay can detect fine changes in cell morphology. In the present study BNM have been shown to affect; in a size, chemical composition and morphological characteristics-dependent manner, the ability of monocytes to reduce MTT as well as their morphology. Moreover, the specific effects of ND and F on MTT reduction and cell morphology were exhibited in a dose-dependent manner and sensitive to the formation of surface protein corona. Our results suggest that short-term culture of monocytes is a sensitive model system for assessing the biological effects of BMPs in vitro.