Ultrabright fluorescent mesoporous silica nanoparticles for prescreening of cervical cancer

Abstract

We report on the first functional use of recently introduced ultrabright fluorescent mesoporous silica nanoparticles, which are functionalized with folic acid, to distinguish cancerous and precancerous cervical epithelial cells from normal cells. The high brightness of the particles is advantageous for fast and reliable identification of both precancerous and cancerous cells. Normal and cancer cells were isolated from three healthy women and three cancer patients. Three precancerous cell lines were derived by immortalization of primary cultures of normal cells with human papillomavirus type-16 (HPV-16) DNA. We observed substantially different particle internalization by normal and cancerous/precancerous cells after a short incubation time of 15 minutes. Compared to HPV-DNA and cell pathology tests, which are currently used for prescreening of cervical cancer, we demonstrated that the specificity of our method was similar (94-95%), whereas its sensitivity was significantly better (95-97%) than the sensitivity of those currently used tests (16%-82%).

Colloidal and spherical mesoporous silica particles: synthesis and new technologies for delivery applications

“…Mesoporous matrix characteristics vary in a broad range with surface area values from 10 to 1283 m 2 / g [28,29], depending on the reaction conditions; the high amount of variables and the lack of systematic studies make any correlation of the sol-gel process with the final properties of the materials very difficult. Higher pore sizes [15,25,30] are definitely obtained by the use of a pore expander or a cosolvent [26], except for the case of SBA-15, where mesopores of 9 nm are usually expected [24]. The highest pore size value obtained should be carefully understood possibly as mesopore cylinders (3 nm of diameter by 32 nm of length).…”

“…2b shows different shapes and mesopores structures reported lately. In regard to surfactants, almost all reports used CTAB or CTAC in basic conditions, and ammonia or sodium hydroxide as catalysts, although some attempts have been made using lysine [25] or triethylamine [15,26]. Some nonionic surfactants such as Triton X-100 [22] and P123 [24] under acid conditions, and even D-(-) fructose [27] have been tested as SDA, the last one with remarkable sphere shape, but low pore size and a disordered structure.…”

Trends in Biosensors for HPV: Identification and Diagnosis

“…Usually utilized as reporters or signal enhancers [52,54], nanoparticles are designed based on their combination with another technique. In this manner, silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) are commonly mixed with fluorescent molecules to achieve the prescreening of many HPV genotypes [51]. Nanoparticles can also be covalently linked to oligonucleotides as Yu-Hong and col. described [50].…”

Advances in Nanotechnology and Microfluidics for Human Papillomavirus Diagnostics

“…Ultrabright fluorescent mesoporous silica nanoparticles were also used to detect cancerous and precancerous cervical epithelial cells [55]. These particles were functionalized with folic acid to specifically target folate receptors of malignant cells.…”