Facile synthesis of magnetic silica-mannan nanocomposites for enhancement in internalization and immune response of dendritic cells

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) have been extensively exploited in biomedicine, especially as contrasting agents. In this work, SPIONs are of our interest as directing agents to the targeted dendritic cells (DCs). Mannan extracted from Saccharomyces cerevisiae was used as DCs targeting moieties. Herein, nanocomposites of silica magnetic nanoparticle-mannan (S-SPION-MN) were successfully synthesized as a magnetically assisted delivery system. The materials before Silica magnetic nanoparticles (S-SPION) and after mannan modification were characterized using a vibrating sample magnetometer to confirm their superparamagnetic character. The change in zeta potential from highly negative charge to slightly negative charge of the composites suggested the successful attachment of mannan on their surface. Chemical analysis using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed the attachment of mannan through chemical bonding, corresponding to the observation of high stability of the particles over a two-week period. The synthesized materials were investigated for cytotoxicity, DC maturation, cytokine production, and cellular uptake. Moderate cell viability was observed after stimulating cells with the particulate mannan, S-SPION-MN, due to high activation of DCs. Under a magnetic induction, S-SPION-MN showed significant enhancement of DCs targeting within 15 min. Owing to the incorporation of mannan and SPIONs, the S-SPION-MN greatly enhanced cellular uptake and accordingly resulted in high DC activation and maturation. The resulted nanocomposites can be beneficial as a potential candidate in antigen delivery to targeted immune cells for further in vivo study.