Cell biophysical characteristics of PPy-GNPs and their application in photothermal therapy of SKOV-3 cell

• Published in: Journal of nanoparticle research : an interdisciplinary forum for nanoscale science and technology 2020-09, Vol.22 (9), Article 284
• Main Authors: Liu, Chuanzhi, Huang, Yuxi, Zhao, Chunru, Yang, Fan, Qin, Haiqi, Wang, Zuobin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Atomic force microscopy; Cancer; Cancer therapies; Cell proliferation; Cell viability; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemical compounds; Chemistry and Materials Science; Gold; Inorganic Chemistry; Irradiation; Lasers; Materials Science; Mechanical properties; Modulus of elasticity; Nanoparticles; Nanotechnology; Near infrared radiation; Optical Devices; Optics; Pharmacology; Photonics; Photothermal conversion; Physical Chemistry; Polypyrroles; Research Paper; Therapy; Tumor cells
• ISSN: 1388-0764; 1572-896X
• DOI: 10.1007/s11051-020-04993-6

The pursuit of multifunctional, stable, more efficient, and safer cancer treatment has gained increasing interest in the research of nanoparticle-mediated photothermal therapy. Many nanoparticles have good absorption chracteristics in the near-infrared region, because of the high light-to-heat conversion efficiency; they could destroy tumor cells by heat; thus, they are often treated as a potential photothermal therapy agent. In this work, a kind of polypyrrole (PPy)-coated gold nanoparticles particles (PPy-GNPs) with high photothermal conversion capability was prepared. Their particle sizes were about 90 ± 11.2 nm. The temperature of PPy-GNPs solution in a concentration of 0.25 mg/ml rises 13.6 °C, and the nanoparticles could significantly inhibit the proliferation of SKOV-3 cells under irradiation of 25 W·cm −2 laser (808 nm) for 10 min, with the maximum cell viability value is maintained at 87.6% by MTT assay. In the same photothermal and cultured conditions, the photothermal conversion efficiency and cytostatic effect of the gold nanoparticle are much lower than that of the PPy-GNPs group. The atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to identify the function of nanoparticles for the structural changes of the cells. The SKOV-3 cell of adhesion forces decrease by 21%, and Young’s modulus increases by 26% compared with control. These results suggest that PPy-GNPs are effective targeted photothermal therapeutic agents for cancer treatment.