Nanobiomechanical behavior of Fe ₃ O ₄ @SiO ₂ and Fe ₃ O ₄ @SiO ₂ –NH ₂ nanoparticles over HeLa cells interfaces

Abstract

Abstract In this work, we studied the impact of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) interactions with HeLa cells when they are exposed to high frequency alternating magnetic field (AMF). Specifically, we measured the nanobiomechanical properties of cell interfaces by using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) MNPs were synthesized by coprecipitation and encapsulated with silica (SiO 2 ): Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 and functionalized with amino groups (−NH 2 ): Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 –NH 2 , by sonochemical processing. HeLa cells were incubated with or without MNPs, and then exposed to AMF at 37 °C. A biomechanical analysis was then performed through AFM, providing the Young’s modulus and stiffness of the cells. The statistical analysis ( p < 0.001) showed that AMF application or MNPs interaction modified the biomechanical behavior of the cell interfaces. Interestingly, the most significant difference was found for HeLa cells incubated with Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 –NH 2 and exposed to AMF, showing that the local heat of these MNPs modified their elasticity and stiffness.