Impact of diamond nanoparticles on neural cells

•SH-SY5Y cells internalize diamond nanoparticles.•Diamond nanoparticles at the higher concentration diminish cell metabolic activity.•Diamond nanoparticles have no significant impact on neuroblastoma cell morphology.

Diamond nanoparticles (DNPs) are very attractive for biomedical applications, particularly for bioimaging. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of DNPs on neural cancer cells and thus to assess the possible application of DNPs for these cells imaging. For this purpose, the neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cell line was chosen. Cells were cultured in medium with different concentrations (15, 50, 100 and 150 μg/ml) of DNPs. After 48 h of incubation, cell metabolic activity was evaluated by the XTT assay. For assessment of cellular metabolic activity, cells were also cultured on differently terminated nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) coatings in medium with 150 μg/ml of DNPs. Cell adhesion and morphology were evaluated by brightfield microscopy. Diamond nanoparticle internalization was determined by confocal microscopy. The obtained results showed that low concentrations (15, 50 and 100 μg/ml) of nanoparticles did not significantly affect the SH-SY5Y cell metabolic activity. However, a higher concentration (150 μg/ml) of DNPs statistically significantly reduced SH-SY5Y cell metabolic activity. After 48 h incubation with 150 μg/ml DNPs, cell metabolic activity was 23% lower than in medium without DNPs on standard tissue culture polystyrene.