Combined use of optical tweezers and scanning electron microscopy to reveal influence of nanoparticles on red blood cells interactions

摘要

As a promising drug delivery system, itself or coupled with red blood cells (RBC), nanoparticles (NP) should be studiedin frames of their interaction at the cellular level. Experiments were performed on RBC in autologous blood plasmaincubated with different NP – TiO2, ZnO, nanodiamonds and polymeric nanocapsules. RBC aggregates formation inRBC suspension was observed with conventional microscopy, while quantitative interaction force measurementsbetween individual RBC was assessed with optical tweezers. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imagingdemonstrated NP localization and RBC membrane modifications upon binding with NP. Among tested NP,nanodiamonds caused increasing the size of aggregates in RBC suspensions, RBC interaction force increase and strongmembrane surface modifications, comparing to other tested NP and control sample. Nanocapsules do not cause anyadverse effects on RBC properties, confirming biocompatibility and applicability for drug delivery purposes. Opticaltweezers combined with SEM imaging serves as fast informative assessment of NP effects on RBC.