Plate reader spectroscopy as an alternative to atomic absorption spectroscopy for the assessment of nanoparticle cellular uptake

Fundamental studies investigating the biological effects induced by nanoparticles (NPs) explicitly require the correct assessment of their intracellular concentration. Ultrasensitive atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) is perceived as one of the gold standard methods for quantifying internalized NPs. Besides its limitation to metal-based NPs though, AAS also requires specific infrastructure and tedious sample preparation and handling, making it time-consuming and cost-intensive. Herein we report on a reliable, rapid, and affordable alternative to AAS – plate reader spectroscopy (PRS), which offers an accessible option for everyday laboratory use without sophisticated instrumentation. Our results demonstrate, that following a proper methodological approach, data on intracellular concentration of NPs obtained by PRS are fully comparable to AAS results. Specifically, the intracellular concentration of magnetite NPs coated with sodium oleate and bovine serum albumin in human alveolar A549 cells was assessed by PRS and AAS in parallel, with a remarkable correlation coefficient of R = 0.9914.