Issue 8, 2019

Selective photothermal killing of cancer cells using LED-activated nucleus targeting fluorescent carbon dots

Abstract

The development of effective theranostic probes in cancer therapy is hampered due to issues with selectivity and off-target toxicity. We report the selective LED-photothermal ablation of cervical (HeLa) cancer cells over human dermal fibroblasts (HDF) using a new class of green-emissive fluorescent carbon dots (FCDs). The FCDs can be easily prepared in one pot using cheap and commercial starting materials. Physico-chemical characterization revealed that a surface coating of 2,5-deoxyfructosazine on a robust amorphous core gives rise to the nanomaterial's unique properties. We show that intracellular uptake mostly involves passive mechanisms in combination with intracellular DNA interactions to target the nucleus and that cancer cell selective killing is likely due to an increase in intracellular temperature in combination with ATP depletion, which is not observed upon exposure to either the “naked” core FCDs or the surface components individually. The selectivity of these nanoprobes and the lack of apparent production of toxic metabolic byproducts make these new nanomaterials promising agents in cancer therapy.

Graphical abstract: Selective photothermal killing of cancer cells using LED-activated nucleus targeting fluorescent carbon dots

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
10 5月 2019
Accepted
14 7月 2019
First published
15 7月 2019
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Nanoscale Adv., 2019,1, 2840-2846

Selective photothermal killing of cancer cells using LED-activated nucleus targeting fluorescent carbon dots

S. A. Hill, S. Sheikh, Q. Zhang, L. Sueiro Ballesteros, A. Herman, S. A. Davis, D. J. Morgan, M. Berry, D. Benito-Alifonso and M. C. Galan, Nanoscale Adv., 2019, 1, 2840 DOI: 10.1039/C9NA00293F

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