Iterative Cellular Screening System for Nanoparticle Safety Testing

Figure 2

Morphology studies of NIH-3T3 cells (a–d) and A549 cells (e–h) grown on 2D monolayers (a, c, e, g) or encapsulated in a hydrogel (3D cell culture) (b, d, f, h). NIH-3T3 cells were cultivated in standard culture medium (a, b) or were treated with 10 μg/mL ZnO-NP in 2D (c) and in 3D (d). For A549 cells 40 μg/mL ZnO-NP were added in 2D (g) and 300 μg/mL ZnO-NP in 3D (h). The A549 control cells cultivated in standard culture medium were displayed in (e) and (f). Morphology changes after ZnO-NP exposure were observed in 2D for both cell lines whereas in 3D effects were only determined for NIH-3T3 cells.