Photo-Functionalized Magnetic Nanoparticles as a Nanocarrier of Photodynamic Anticancer Agent for Biomedical Theragnostics

Abstract

Various theragnostic agents have been devised and developed as cancer treatments; however, existing agents are often limited by their specific functions and complexities. Here, we report multifunctional magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles functionalized with chlorin e6 (Ce6) and folic acid (FA) using a simple fabrication process to be used as theragnostic agents in photodynamic therapy (PDT). The effectiveness of cellular uptake of Fe3O4-Ce6-FA nanoparticles (FCF NPs) and its visualization as well as the photodynamic anticancer activities were evaluated. The mechanism of cancer cell death by the FCF NPs was also verified with qualitative and quantitative methods. Results indicate that FCF NPs have good penetration efficacy, resulting in excellent in vitro fluorescence and magnetic resonance imaging in cancer cells. FCF NPs exhibited promising anticancer activity in an irradiation time- and FCF NPs-dose-dependent manner in various cancer cell lines, leading to apoptotic cell death via morphological changes in cell membrane, nuclear, and DNA damage, and via overexpression of apoptosis-related genes, such as ZFP36L1, CYR61, GADD45G, caspases-2, -3, -9, 10, and -14. This study suggests that FCF NPs may be safely used in cancer therapy via PDT and could be a versatile therapeutic tool and biocompatible theragnostic agent, which may be used in diagnostic imaging.

Tamoxifen-loaded PLA/DPPE-PEG lipid-polymeric nanocapsules for inhibiting the growth of estrogen-positive human breast cancer cells through cell cycle arrest

“…Briefly, MTT cell proliferation experiments showed that the cytotoxicity of PLA/DPPE-PEG-based TMX nanocapsule on MCF-7 breast cancer cell increased as compared with free tamoxifen and confirmed previous reports of nanodrug delivery (Kathle et al 2018;Nguyen et al 2008). The folate-decorated tamoxifen nanocapsule can increase cell uptake efficacy through FA receptormediated endocytosis in MCF-7 breast cancer cell line (Nam et al 2020). Accordingly, a comparison between the present study results and findings of our previous research revealed that the cytotoxic effect of loaded tamoxifen in folate-modified PLGA nanocapsules is approximately four times more than PLA/DPPE-PEG nanocapsules on MCF-7 cells.…”

Therapeutic Potency of NO Loaded into Anticancer Copper Metal−Organic Framework through Nonclassical Hydrogen Bonding

“…To evaluate the in vitro safety of L-929 cells, cytotoxicity tests were performed by previously reported method. 24 In brief, precultured cells with the same concentrations were cultured in 24-well plates for 1 day to test cellular uptake. The cells treated with Cu-MOF and NO⊂Cu-MOF (0, 12.5, 25, 50, 100, and 200 μg mL −1 ) were incubated for 1 day at 37 °C under air adjusted with 5% CO 2 in dark conditions.…”

Therapeutic applications of magnetic nanoparticles: recent advances

“…117 Additionally, Ce6 and folic acid (FA) formulated IONPs can be used as a therapeutic tool in photodynamic therapy (PDT). 118 Recently, Yu and co-workers developed Ce6 loaded with PG functionalized IONPs linked with glucose, which can give both targeted photodynamic therapy and boost its immunogenicity in lung carcinoma. 119 Combining two therapies in one nanoparticle will increase its efficacy and decrease the side effects associated with it.…”