Graphene oxide size and structure pro-oxidant and antioxidant activity and photoinduced cytotoxicity relation on three cancer cell lines

• Published in: Journal of photochemistry and photobiology. B, Biology Biology, 2019-11, Vol.200, p.111647-111647, Article 111647
• Main Authors: Marković, Zoran M., Jovanović, Svetlana P., Mašković, Pavle Z., Mojsin, Marija M., Stevanović, Milena J., Danko, Martin, Mičušík, Matej, Jovanović, Dragana J., Kleinová, Angela, Špitalský, Zdeno, Pavlović, Vladimir B., Todorović Marković, Biljana M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antioxidants; Biotechnology; Cancer; Carbon; Carbon quantum dots; Cervical carcinoma; Cervix; Cytotoxicity; Electron paramagnetic resonance; Free radicals; Graphene; Graphene oxide; Graphene quantum dots; Irradiation; Light irradiation; Light sources; Microscopy; Nanomaterials; Nanotechnology; Optical properties; Oxidants; Oxidizing agents; Photoluminescence; Photons; Production methods; Quantum dots; Reactive oxygen species; Rhabdomyosarcoma; Singlet oxygen; Spectroscopy; Toxicity testing; Transmission electron microscopy; Tumor cell lines
• ISSN: 1011-1344; 1873-2682
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2019.111647

Photoactive materials called photosensitizers can be used for treatment of different types of cancer in combination with light source. In this paper, we have investigated pro-oxidant and antioxidant potentials of four graphene based nanomaterials (graphene oxide-GO, graphene quantum dots-GQDs, carbon quantum dots-CQDs and N-doped carbon quantum dots-N-CQDs) depending on the presence/absence of visible light source. Structural and optical properties of these materials and their potentials for reactive oxygen species generation/quenching are investigated by applying different microscopy and spectroscopy techniques (transmission electron microscopy, FTIR, UV–Vis, photoluminescence, electron paramagnetic resonance). Results show that all types of quantum dots has pro-oxidant and antioxidant potentials whereas GO demonstrated only moderate antioxidant effect. The best free radical scavenger is CQDs sample in the absence of light. CQDs are the best singlet oxygen generator under blue light irradiation as well. To check photo-cytotoxicity of these materials, photo-cytotoxic concentrations of the GO, GQDs, CQDs and N-CQDs were determined for three cellular lines: human rhabdomyosarcoma (RD), cell line derived from human cervix carcinoma Hep2c (HeLa) and fibroblast cell line from murine (L2OB). Cytotoxicity test has indicated that all samples are much less photocytotoxic than cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (cis-DPP). The production method and doping of quantum dots affect the photodynamic activity of tested samples very much. [Display omitted] •Graphene oxide size and structure materials.•Crossover between pro-oxidant and antioxidant activities.•Fullerene like structure affects ROS generation/quenching.•Blue light dependent cytotoxicity toward cancer cells.