Cytotoxicity of the Functionalized Gold and Silver Nanorods

摘要

The cytotoxicity of various surface functionalized gold and silver nanords was measured by MTT assays for two cell lines, fibroblast and HeLa. It was found that the functionalized nanorods with 200nm diameter and length up to a few μm can be readily internalized by both types of cells regardless of the surface functionalization. However, the cytotoxicity of the nanorods was found to depend on the polarity of the surface charge. The positively charged amino end group on the nanorod surface was found to be the least toxic whereas the negatively charged carboxylic acid end group on the nanorod surface caused lots of cell death. In general, the functionalized nanorods were found to be more toxic than the serum coated nanorods.