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Chitosan capped CuInS2 and CuInS2/ZnS by wet stirred media milling: in vitro verification of their potential bio-imaging applications

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Abstract

In this work, the mechanochemically synthesized CuInS2 and CuInS2/ZnS samples were capped with chitosan by wet stirred media milling to obtain nanosuspensions suitable for testing of their bio-imaging properties. The stability of the prepared nanosuspensions was studied using a particle size-distribution and zeta potential measurements and the results were compared. The nanosuspension of CuInS2/ZnS was stable only for 1 week, on the other hand, CuInS2 was stable for 37 weeks. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy was used for the determination of possible interaction between the chitosan and the inorganic entities. The optical properties were also studied using UV–Vis and PL spectroscopies. The dissolution of copper and zinc ions in a physiological solution from CuInS2 and CuInS2/ZnS samples was also investigated. The potential bio-imaging applications were verified in vitro on four cancer cell lines with no toxicity risk in a case of CuInS2 sample. The cells were more visible in comparison with non-treated ones under the fluorescence microscope. They stayed in the cytoplasm and surrounded the nucleus. Granularity and metabolic activity of the cells were strongly influenced. On the other hand, CuInS2/ZnS nanocrystals affected cell metabolism and survival and they seem not suitable for bio-imaging applications particularly in high concentrations.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency under contract No. APVV-18-0357 and by the Slovak Grant Agency VEGA (project 2/0065/18).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geotechnics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, 04001, Košice, Slovakia

    Erika Dutková, Zdenka Lukáčová Bujňáková, Olha Skurikhina & Jaroslav Briančin

  2. Faculty of Medicine, P.J. Šafárik University, 04011, Košice, Slovakia

    Martin Kello & Ján Mojžiš

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  1. Erika Dutková
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  2. Zdenka Lukáčová Bujňáková
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  3. Martin Kello
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  4. Ján Mojžiš
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  5. Olha Skurikhina
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  6. Jaroslav Briančin
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Correspondence to Erika Dutková.

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Dutková, E., Bujňáková, Z.L., Kello, M. et al. Chitosan capped CuInS2 and CuInS2/ZnS by wet stirred media milling: in vitro verification of their potential bio-imaging applications. Appl Nanosci 10, 4661–4671 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13204-020-01530-8

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