Reinforcing alginate beads by incorporating amine-functionalized silica nanoparticles for 3D cell culture applications

Novel alginate-silica nanocomposite beads were prepared wih an improved mechanical stability for the mammalian cell culture purposes, without any decrease in the cell viability compared to bare alginate beads . Three types of monodispersed spherical silica nanoparticles with sizes of 165±7, 450±10 and 660±25 nm were synthesized using the template-removing method and then were amine-functionalized with N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyl trimethoxy-silane (EDS). Modification of nanoparticles with EDS provided a positive charge on the surface of nanoparticles, and consequently enhanced the bead integrity and the attachement of mammalian cells. Prepared nanoparticles were used as the filler in the alginate polymer matrix. In comparison with the conventional alginate beads, the synthesized nanocomposites presented an enhanced mechanical stability and long-term durability. The cell cultivation tests revealed that incorporating amine-functionalized silica nanoparticles into alginate beads has no negetive effect on the CHO cell density and viability

Keywords:

Silica nanoparticles , Template-removing method , Alginate beads , Nanocomposite , Mammalian cell culture