Synthesis, characterization, and biocompatibility studies of a new lanthanum-cerium synthetic aminoclay analogue

Aminopropyl-functionalized synthetic phyllosilicate analogues have been widely used in many biological and medical applications due to their facile, green, simple and at ambient conditions synthetic procedure. Furthermore, rare earth synthetic aminoclay analogues could have great potential as antibacterial agents, since rare earth ions (III) have a high binding affinity to phosphate groups, while the amine groups can be spontaneously protonated in any aquatic environment causing the depolarization of the bacterial membrane structure via electrostatic forces. Herein, we designed and successfully prepared a new Lanthanum/Cerium synthetic aminoclay analogue (LaCeAC) and studied the in vitro effects in normal and cancer cells. Our results showed a differential effect in each cell line underlying however a common cytotoxic mechanism: the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which was significantly higher and more detrimental to the normal cells. The resilience of cancer cells could be attributed to the milder effect of LaCeAC on their membrane structure, resulting in lower endocytosis (uptake) rates compared to normal cells.