Cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of GO-Fe₃O₄ hybrid in cultured mammalian cells

The study was aimed at investigating the effect of the Fe₃O₄ hybrid deposited on graphene oxide (GO-Fe₃O₄) on the relative viability and DNA integrity. The properties of the GO-Fe₃O₄ hybrid were analyzed using a transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction technique (XRD) and thermal gravimetric method (TGA), while the efficiency of graphene oxide covalent functionalization with iron oxide nanospheres was determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). L929 and MCF-7 cell lines were selected to analyze the biocompatibility of GO-Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles. The hybrid was tested using WST-1 and LDH leakage assays. DNA integrity was analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis and micronucleus assay was performed to examine chromosomal damage in the exposed cell lines. The tested GO-Fe₃O₄ hybrid did not significantly reduce cell metabolism of L929 cells. GO-Fe₃O₄ hybrid particles only slightly affected the integrity of cell membranes. DNA integrity and micronucleus assays did not indicate genotoxicity of the hybrid.