Effects of polyamidoamine dendrimer on neuronal differentiation from human neural progenitor cells using the neurosphere assay

Polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers have been investigated for the development of engineered nanomaterial drug delivery systems and other industrial uses. However, the major concern for their potential adverse effects on human neural progenitor cells remains unclear. In the present study, we employed human neural progenitor cells (hNPCs) to study the effects of G4-PAMAM dendrimers on neuronal differentiation. Neurospheres were treated with PAMAM dendrimer-NH2 (10 μg/mL) for 72 h. Four neurospheres from the treatment and control groups were pooled together, and RNAs were isolated from each group.