2024 AIChE Annual Meeting
Chemomagnetic Differentiation of Neuron-like Cells Using the Neurotransmitter Capsaicin
Neurodegenerative diseases often lead to significant loss of neural function and tissue integrity. Recent studies suggest that using capsaicin as a neurotransmitter may enhance neuronal growth and differentiation. This work investigates the effects of capsaicin on the differentiation of ND 7/23 cells, a hybrid neuronal cell line. By employing MNPs to facilitate the controlled release of capsaicin, we aim to determine its potential to induce neuronal differentiation. Capsaicin will be encapsulated within a polymer coating grown from magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) surface. These MNPs will be applied to the ND 7/23 cells, and capsaicin will be released from the polymer coating upon applying alternating magnetic fields (AMFs). The purpose of using AMFs is to control the release rate of the neurotransmitter onto neurons through magnetic heating of MNPs and temperature response of the polymer coating. The cell morphology of ND 7/23 cells was evaluated to assess the effects of capsaicin on cell differentiation. ND 7/23 cells were classified into three stages: stage 0-1 (rounded cell with lamellipodia and filopodia), stage 2 (cells exhibiting multiple neurites), and stage 3 (cells demonstrating longer axonal propagations). Preliminary data indicates that a seeding density of 10,000 cells showed the most differentiation after 7 days of exposure to 0.003 mg of capsaicin, combined with growth factors (NGF + cAMP). The goal of this research is to investigate the potential effects of the localized release of capsaicin on nerve differentiation and regeneration. Future studies will explore various concentrations of capsaicin to further evaluate its effect on neuronal differentiation.