Issue 7, 2015

Dual-functional carbon dots–silver@zinc oxide nanocomposite: in vitro evaluation of cellular uptake and induction of apoptosis

Abstract

Carbon dots (CDs) are novel bioimaging tools with fascinating fluorescence properties. We report here the development of novel CDs decorated on a silver–zinc oxide (CD–Ag@ZnO) nanocomposite (NC) consisting of highly fluorescent CDs and Ag@ZnO. The CD–Ag@ZnO NC was characterized by various analytical techniques. Our work provides an insight into the application of this CD–Ag@ZnO NC in monitoring cellular uptake and mediating apoptotic effects in MCF-7 and A549 cancer cell lines. By monitoring the simultaneous green fluorescence emission of the CDs, the distribution of the CD–Ag@ZnO NC could be followed, eliminating the need to use fluorescent organic dyes. Fluorescence microscopy and atomic absorption spectrometry were used for the qualitative and quantitative assessment of cellular uptake. In vitro studies of cancer cells treated with CD–Ag@ZnO NC revealed concentration-dependent cytotoxic effects via the induction of apoptosis. Fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy were used to study the characteristic nuclear and morphological changes during apoptosis. We used flow cytometry to quantify the reactive oxygen species and the reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction to study apoptotic gene expression. The role of reactive oxygen species in eliciting the apoptotic gene cascade was also studied. Intriguingly, the multifunctional CD–Ag@ZnO NC has a tendency to evoke apoptosis while allowing real-time intracellular trafficking, which may be of huge relevance in cancer theranostic applications.

Graphical abstract: Dual-functional carbon dots–silver@zinc oxide nanocomposite: in vitro evaluation of cellular uptake and induction of apoptosis

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
11 Гру 2014
Accepted
15 Гру 2014
First published
15 Гру 2014

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2015,3, 1217-1229

Author version available

Dual-functional carbon dots–silver@zinc oxide nanocomposite: in vitro evaluation of cellular uptake and induction of apoptosis

A. Sachdev, I. Matai and P. Gopinath, J. Mater. Chem. B, 2015, 3, 1217 DOI: 10.1039/C4TB02043J

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements