Brown University researchers have revealed the mystery behind the interest of cells on asbestos fibers and similar materials at the nanoscale even though they cannot be completely ingested by the cells.
Perpendicular Perplexity
During their study using molecular experiments and simulations, the researchers observed that nanomaterials like carbon nanotubes entered the cells with the tip first and at perpendicular angle most of the times. The cell, which is fooled by the orientation of the nanotip, intakes the rounded tip by thinking that it is a sphere rather than a lengthy cylinder. It is too late for the cell when it understands the nanotube is too lengthy to be completely ingested.
The study is vital in understanding the interaction of nanomaterials with cells so that researchers can develop nanomedicines that assist cells rather than damage them. Commercial gold nanowires and carbon nanotubes have rounded tips with a diameter between 10 and 100 nm that can be suitably handled by the cells. During their contact with nanotubes, receptors on the cell get triggered to bend and cluster the membrane wall to cover the cell around the tip of the nanomaterial in a sequence called ‘tip recognition’. When this happens, the nanomterial is tipped to a perpendicular angle that decreases the energy required for the cell to intake the nanoparticle.
Huajian Gao, one of the researchers, stated that when the cell realizes that it is not possible to ingest the nanostructures completely, it calls for assistance, resulting in the activation of an immune response that can produce repetitive inflammation. The researchers want to investigate that nanotubes with no rounded tips or minimal rigid nanomaterials like nanoribbons cause the same problem for cells.