Photothermal effects of laser-activated surface plasmonic gold nanoparticles on the apoptosis and osteogenesis of osteoblast-like cells

Abstract

The specific properties of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) make them a novel class of photothermal agents that can induce cancer cell damage and even death through the conversion of optical energy to thermal energy. Most relevant studies have focused on increasing the precision of cell targeting, improving the efficacy of energy transfer, and exploring additional functions. Nevertheless, most cells can uptake nanosized particles through nonspecific endocytosis; therefore, before hyperthermia via AuNPs can be applied for clinical use, it is important to understand the adverse optical–thermal effects of AuNPs on nontargeted cells. However, few studies have investigated the thermal effects induced by pulsed laser-activated AuNPs on nearby healthy cells due to nonspecific treatment. The aim of this study is to evaluate the photothermal effects induced by AuNPs plus a pulsed laser on MG63, an osteoblast-like cell line, specifically examining the effects on cell morphology, viability, death program, and differentiation. The cells were treated with media containing 50 nm AuNPs at a concentration of 5 ppm for 1 hour. Cultured cells were then exposed to irradiation at 60 mW/cm 2 and 80 mW/cm 2 by a Nd:YAG laser (532 nm wavelength). We observed that the cytoskeletons of MG63 cells treated with bare AuNPs followed by pulsed laser irradiation were damaged, and these cells had few bubbles on the cell membrane compared with those that were not treated (control) or were treated with AuNPs or the laser alone. There were no significant differences between the AuNPs plus laser treatment group and the other groups in terms of cell viability, death program analysis results, or alkaline phosphatase and calcium accumulation during culture for up to 21 days. However, the calcium deposit areas in the cells treated with AuNPs plus laser were larger than those in other groups during the early culture period.

Functionalization of gold-nanoparticles by the Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin C-terminus for tumor cell ablation using the gold nanoparticle-mediated laser perforation technique

“…In this context, C-CPE could be a tool in cancer therapy with less side-effects compared to the original CPE. The technique could be a complement or an alternative to antibodies functionalized AuNPs 14 , 53 – 55 .…”

Bioinspired extracellular vesicles embedded with black phosphorus for molecular recognition-guided biomineralization

“…Phosphorus is a key component of mineral crystals, and hyperthermia can promote the biomineralization process 25–31,33 . With the special capability to provide phosphate and hyperthermia, the Apt-bioinspired MVs were further studied for biomineralization purposes.…”

“…Furthermore, ultrasmall BP nanosheets with sizes of several nanometers (usually named as BP quantum dots, BPQDs) have high photothermal conversion efficiency and thus can be used as a promising photothermal agent 24 . Previous researches have indicated that hyperthermia promotes biomineralization by stimulating the up-regulated expression of proteins, including alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and heat shock proteins (HSP) 25–29 , thus increasing the generation of mineral crystals and realizing bone reconstruction 29–31 . These special properties render BPQDs promising biomaterials for stimulating biomineralization and further promoting mineralization-guided biological behavior regulation and medical engineering.…”

Combination of chemotherapy and Au-nanoparticle photothermy in the visible light to tackle doxorubicin resistance in cancer cells

“…In the case of cells with AuNPs, loss of cell viability may be due to localized heat at the membrane, destabilizing the lipid bilayer, and permeabilizing it 26 . Also, endoskeleton damage is likely to happen, since it is where AuNPs are mostly located at 4 h 27 . It is possible to observe that HCT116 DOXR are more sensitive to AuNPs’ irradiation than HCT116, since at 90 s irradiation the difference in cell death of irradiating or not HCT116 DOXR is 91% compared with 66% for HCT116 (Fig.…”