Magnesium and Calcium Organophyllosilicates: Synthesis and In vitro Cytotoxicity Study

Synthesis of multifunctional hybrid nanomaterials for biomedical applications has received great attention. Herein, we examine the potential toxicity of organophyllosilicates on cells from different organs such as A549 (lung epithelial cancer), HT-29 (colon epithelial cancer), MRC-5 (lung fibroblast) and CCD-986sk (skin fibroblast) cells. For this, aminopropyl functionalized magnesium phyllosilicate (AMP clay) and aminopropyl functionalized calcium phyllosilicate (ACP clay) were prepared using one-pot direct sol–gel method. Toxic effects of these organoclays on normal fibroblast and tumor cells were examined under varying concentrations and exposure times. MTT and LDH assays indicated that both organoclays had little cytotoxicity in all of the cells tested at concentrations as high as 500 μg/mL. Even at high concentration (1000 μg/mL), the toxicity of both organoclays on cell viability and membrane damage was not severe and appeared to be cell type specific. In addition, organoclays did not induce apoptosis at concentrations as high as 1000 μg/mL.