Effect of Surface Functionalization on the Cellular Uptake and Toxicity of Nanozeolite A

Extensive use of zeolite nanoparticles in many areas, including medicine, has led to the concern about an impact and possible risk of their use for human health and the environment. In our studies, we investigated an uptake, retention, and cytotoxicity of nanozeolite A (BaA) functionalized with aminopropyl or poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) of different chain lengths using human cervical carcinoma cell line. For internalization studies, nanozeolite was labeled with (133)Ba radionuclide. The results show that in the case of PEG modification, toxicity and uptake depend on the PEG chain length. The highest toxicity has been observed for nanozeolites coated with short-length chain (Ba-silane-PEGm(MW350). Also, amine-modified nanozeolites exhibited high toxicity, while nanozeolites coated with long PEG molecules, BaA-silane-PEGm(MW1000), and BaA-silane-PEGm(MW2000), as well as unmodified nanozeolite, seem to be nontoxic. In conclusion, this study shows that uptake, retention, and toxicity of nanozeolites coated with various length PEG molecules groups depend on the molecular weight of PEG. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s11671-016-1334-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.