A microfluidic platform for the investigation of nanoparticles cellular uptake and cancer cells tracking in real-time

In this study, we aim to endorse an improved platform composed of labeled dendrimer nanoparticles and a microfluidic device for real-time monitoring of cells fate. Carboxymethyl-chitosan/poly(amidoamine) (CMCht/PAMAM) dendrimer nanoparticles were synthetized, labeled with the fluorescent label probe Fluorescein-5(6)-isothiocyanate (FITC) and characterized using Transmission electron microscopy, Atomic force microscopy, Dynamic light scattering, and Differential scanning calorimetry. Different cell types were cultured…..After culturing HeLa (Cervical
Carcinoma), HCT-116 (Colon Carcinoma) and U87MG (Glioblastoma) in the presence of these nanoparticles, cell viability and internalization efficiency in static (standard cultures) and dynamic (microfluidic cultures) conditions were investigated. Results showed that cancer cells cultured with nanoparticles in dynamic conditions were viable and presented higher internalization levels as compared to static 2D cultures. This work demonstrated that the proposed microfluidic platform allowed real-time cell monitoring, which, upon more studies, namely the assessment of the drug release effect could be used in the future for the screening of new therapeutics and applied in the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.