Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2NPs) are utilised as a key constituent in many biopharmaceuticals and food products. This is mainly attributed to their favorable chemical properties which enhance their biocompatibility. However, alteration of the physicochemical properties in various matrices remains unexplored. The present study aims to determine if TiO2NPs modified by bovine serum albumin (BSA) have the ability to influence cytotoxicity in C2C12 myoblast cells. The physicochemical properties of TiO2NPs were altered using BSA in a concentration range of 0.3 – 1.5 mg/mL and characterised using nanoparticle (NP) tracking analysis and transmission electron microscopy. Results show that cytotoxicity is enhanced at a BSA concentration of 0.8 mg/mL, which agrees with reduced particle agglomeration and favorable zeta potential. This proves that the state of TiO2 NPs agglomeration directly affects cytotoxicity which can be due to internalization of the smaller nanoparticle (NP) aggregates. These findings suggest that in vitro cytotoxicity assays incorporate the physicochemical characteristics of NPs in relation to the specific cell model used and colloidal state of the substance being tested.

中文翻译：

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牛血清白蛋白修饰二氧化钛纳米颗粒对成肌细胞毒性的影响

二氧化钛纳米颗粒 (TiO2NPs) 被用作许多生物制药和食品中的关键成分。这主要归因于它们有利的化学性质，这增强了它们的生物相容性。然而，各种基质中物理化学性质的改变仍未得到探索。本研究旨在确定牛血清白蛋白 (BSA) 修饰的 TiO2NPs 是否具有影响 C2C12 成肌细胞的细胞毒性的能力。使用浓度范围为 0.3 – 1.5 mg/mL 的 BSA 改变了 TiO2NPs 的理化性质，并使用纳米颗粒 (NP) 跟踪分析和透射电子显微镜进行表征。结果表明，细胞毒性在 0.8 mg/mL 的 BSA 浓度下增强，这与减少的颗粒团聚和有利的 zeta 电位一致。这证明 TiO2 NPs 的团聚状态直接影响细胞毒性，这可能是由于较小的纳米颗粒 (NP) 聚集体的内化。这些发现表明，体外细胞毒性试验结合了 NPs 的物理化学特征，与所使用的特定细胞模型和被测物质的胶体状态有关。