Moderate Level Exposure to Magnetic Nanodots Encased in Tunable Poly(ethylene Glycol) Analouge Biopolymer Shell Do Not Deleteriously Affect Neurite Outgrowth

Recently, huge interest has been generated in investigating the possible therapeutic use of tunable magnetic nanostructures to overcome the existing challenges to treat central nervous system damage related conditions. However, several issues (e.g., biocompatibility or remote controlled actuation for multi-modal therapeutics) limit the use of conventional magnetic nanoparticles for biomedical applications. To address many of these shortcomings, we have synthesized a monodisperse nanoscale system consisting highly water dispersible magnetic nanodots encased in a remotely tunable polyethylene glycol analouge biopolymer shell. The monodisperse nature of the nanospheres, their response to external magnetic field and volumetric transition near physiological temperatures are very attractive, especially for drug delivery systems where triggered release is necessary. To further analyze the potential for combinatorial therapeutics for central nervous system damage related conditions, we have explored the efficiency of the uptake of nanospheres into pheochromocytoma cell line 12 (PC12) cells and assessed several additional measures of neurite outgrowth. We find that nanospheres were readily incorporated into the cytosolic compartment within 3 hours and did not alter the morphology of cellular processes compared to cells not exposed to nanospheres. Quantification of neurite outgrowth did not reveal any significant differences in neurite initiation or elongation between cells treated with moderate level nanomagnet exposure compared to control cultures under similar conditions. Thus, this study reports an attractive nano-scale system with great potential to deliver therapeutics to precise locations within the nervous system for axonal outgrowth and guidance.