Viability of Human Dermal Fibroblasts After the Addition of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles
School Name
South Carolina Governor's School for Science & Mathematics
Grade Level
12th Grade
Presentation Topic
Cell and Molecular Biology
Presentation Type
Mentored
Abstract
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. One of the most common vascular diseases, atherosclerosis is a disease that causes arterial narrowing which can lead to heart attacks, stroke, kidney disease, and death. Atherosclerosis is typically treated with percutaneous devices which use a stent to reopen the clogged artery. However, this treatment often leads to restenosis, or re-narrowing of the artery. A large contributor to this issue is over-proliferation of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells (VSMCs) due to a decrease in endothelial cell growth. It has been shown that the use of heparin significantly reduces the growth of VSMCs while promoting growth in endothelial cells; therefore, heparin may provide a solution to the overgrowth of VSMCs if it can be made to have longer residency times in the body. To address this, we are testing the use of heparin-coated magnetized nanoparticles to aid in the delivery of the drug to the stent area. These magnetic nanoparticles consist of iron oxide and may allow a faster transportation of heparin to a magnetic stent. The aim of our study specifically is to test the cytotoxicity of these particles on Human Dermal Fibroblasts (HDFs). Our results show that the HDF cells have a growth rate in the presence of the nanoparticles that is not statistically different from control conditions. This is consistent with our hypothesis since heparin is not expected to have significant impact on vascular fibroblasts.
Recommended Citation
Cobb, Martin and Moore, Shelby, "Viability of Human Dermal Fibroblasts After the Addition of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles" (2020). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 42.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2020/all/42
Location
Furman Hall 107
Start Date
3-28-2020 9:00 AM
Presentation Format
Oral Only
Group Project
Yes
Viability of Human Dermal Fibroblasts After the Addition of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles
Furman Hall 107
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. One of the most common vascular diseases, atherosclerosis is a disease that causes arterial narrowing which can lead to heart attacks, stroke, kidney disease, and death. Atherosclerosis is typically treated with percutaneous devices which use a stent to reopen the clogged artery. However, this treatment often leads to restenosis, or re-narrowing of the artery. A large contributor to this issue is over-proliferation of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells (VSMCs) due to a decrease in endothelial cell growth. It has been shown that the use of heparin significantly reduces the growth of VSMCs while promoting growth in endothelial cells; therefore, heparin may provide a solution to the overgrowth of VSMCs if it can be made to have longer residency times in the body. To address this, we are testing the use of heparin-coated magnetized nanoparticles to aid in the delivery of the drug to the stent area. These magnetic nanoparticles consist of iron oxide and may allow a faster transportation of heparin to a magnetic stent. The aim of our study specifically is to test the cytotoxicity of these particles on Human Dermal Fibroblasts (HDFs). Our results show that the HDF cells have a growth rate in the presence of the nanoparticles that is not statistically different from control conditions. This is consistent with our hypothesis since heparin is not expected to have significant impact on vascular fibroblasts.
