Intracellular Ros Induction by Ag@Zno Core-Shell Nanoparticles: Frontiers of Permanent Optically Active Holes in Breast Cancer Theranostic Publisher Pubmed



Ghaemi B¹ ; Shaabani E¹ ; Najafitaher R¹ ; Jafari Nodooshan S² ; Sadeghpour A⁴ ; Kharrazi S¹ ; Amani A^{1, 3}
Source: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces Published:2018

Abstract

In this study, we investigated whether ZnO coating on Ag nanoparticles (NPs) tunes electron flux and hole figuration at the metal-semiconductor interface under UV radiation. This effect triggers the photoactivity and generation of reactive oxygen species from Ag@ZnO NPs, which results in enhanced cytotoxic effects and apoptotic cell death in human breast cancer cells (MDA-MB231). In this context, upregulation of apoptotic cascade proteins (i.e., Bax/Bcl2 association, p53, cytochrome c, and caspase-3) along with activation of oxidative stress proteins suggested the occurrence of apoptosis by Ag@ZnO NPs in cancer cells through the mitochondrial pathway. Also, preincubation of breast cancer cells with Ag@ZnO NPs in dark conditions muted NP-related toxic effects and consequent apoptotic fate, highlighting biocompatible properties of unexcited Ag@ZnO NPs. Furthermore, the diagnostic efficacy of Ag@ZnO NPs as computed tomography (CT)/optical nanoprobes was investigated. Results confirmed the efficacy of the photoactivated system in obtaining desirable outcomes from CT/optical imaging, which represents novel theranostic NPs for simultaneous imaging and treatment of cancer. © 2018 American Chemical Society.