Herein, we report a synthetic route capable of producing superparamagnetic, stable and biocompatible glucosamine (GLU) nanocarriers, composed by colloidal iron oxide nanoparticles (ION, ~6 nm) surface-functionalized with GLU dispersed in physiological media (pH 7.2). The route consists first of the preparation of ION by aqueous alkaline co-precipitation of 1:2 Fe(II)/Fe(III) followed by surface treatment with citric acid, activation of acidic groups via carbodiimide intermediary and further amidation using GLU as the amine reactant. Results from cell viability tests performed with human dental pulp tissue cells suggest that ION–GLU nanocolloids are biocompatible and non-toxic for two different concentrations and several hours of incubation. Moreover, optical microscopy shows that ION–GLU adsorbs at the cells walls and also transposes them, reaching cytoplasm and nucleus as well. All findings point out the promising use of ION–GLU as biocompatible nanocarriers for GLU delivery such as in articulation diseases.

中文翻译：

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功能性葡糖胺-氧化铁纳米载体

在此，我们报告了一种能够生产超顺磁性、稳定和生物相容性葡糖胺 (GLU) 纳米载体的合成路线，该载体由胶体氧化铁纳米颗粒 (ION，~6 nm) 组成，表面功能化的 GLU 分散在生理介质 (pH 7.2) 中。该路线包括首先通过 1:2 Fe(II)/Fe(III) 的碱性水溶液共沉淀制备 ION，然后用柠檬酸进行表面处理，通过碳二亚胺中间体活化酸性基团，并使用 GLU 作为进一步酰胺化胺反应物。用人牙髓组织细胞进行的细胞活力测试结果表明，ION-GLU 纳米胶体在两种不同浓度和几个小时的孵育下具有生物相容性和无毒。此外，光学显微镜显示 ION-GLU 吸附在细胞壁上并转位它们，也到达细胞质和细胞核。所有研究结果都表明 ION-GLU 作为生物相容性纳米载体用于 GLU 递送（例如在关节疾病中）的应用前景广阔。