Assessment of cytotoxicity profile of gadolinium oxide nanorods and the analogous surface-functionalized nanorods

In this study, gadolinium oxide nanorods (Gd2O3 NRs) were hydrothermally synthesized and ex-situ functionalized with aspartic acid (Asp-Gd2O3 NRs). The cytotoxocity studies on two cells namely RAW 264.7 and MCF-7 was assessed in terms of cell viability, morphological changes, and cell cycle analysis. Both types of NRs were well characterized and Asp-Gd2O3 NRs exhibited enhanced hydrophilicity and dispersity of NRs. Cell viability assay revealed enhanced biocompatibility of Asp-Gd2O3 NRs with almost 75% viability even at a higher concentration of 250 µg mL-1. The morphological changes upon internalization of both NRs were done through fluorescent microscopy that revealed no significant change in the morphology of the cell or its nucleus. Further, the cell cycle studies again confirmed the biocompatible nature of these NRs. These results suggest that Asp-Gd2O3 NRs are well suited for therapeutic applications, such as thermal cancer therapy, due to their tunable shape, size, low toxicity, and the possibility of surface modification.