PREPARATION OF FUNCTIONAL MESOPOROUS CARBON/SILICA NANOMATERIALS FOR TUMOR IMAGING AND THERAPY
Project no. 21380 · Status: Kapanmış · 2020
Summary
<p>Combination therapy is frequently preferred in cancer treatment, often incorporating chemotherapy with photothermal (FTT) or photodynamic therapies. FTT destroys cancer cells through heat, while chemotherapy utilizes specific drugs. Mesoporous carbon nanomaterials (MCNp) are designed as suitable nanosystems for FTT, acting as carriers for chemotherapeutic drugs. Additionally, MCNp can be used as nuclear imaging agents when marked with radionuclides. These characteristics allow MCNp to be developed as theranostic agents.</p><p>Within the thesis project, a new nano drug carrier agent has been developed for chemo/photothermal therapy and nuclear imaging. For this purpose, a Carbon@silica nanocomposite (MC@Si) was prepared, coated with polyethylenimine (PEI), and integrated with Trastuzumab (TRA) monoclonal antibody. The TRA/PEI-MC@Si nanocomposite targets HER-2 positive breast tumor cells. The synthesized nanocomposite has been characterized, with its size measured as 130.5±2.7 nm by SEM and 197±12.3 nm by DLS. The drug Gemcitabine (GEM) was loaded onto the nanocomposite with a yield of 57.2±5.9%, and it was found to release 55±2.6% of the drug at pH 5.5 under laser exposure. The photothermal conversion efficiency was determined to be 43%. In vitro studies showed that 25 µg/mL GEM/TRA-MC@Si has a cytotoxic effect of 48.9±3.9% on SK-BR-3 cells, with cell viability dropping to 35.5±4.5% with FTT. Apoptosis rates were determined as 63.3±8.6% for GEM/TRA-MC@Si and 86.1±11.7% for TRA/PEI-MC@Si. The TRA/PEI-MC@Si nanocomposite was marked with 177-Lutetium (177Lu), with a radiolabeling yield of 93.0±2.4%. In vitro cell studies measured uptake rates of 44.0±4.6% in SK-BR-3 cells and 21.0±2.3% in MDA-MB-231 cells. These findings indicate that TRA-targeted GEM/TRA-MC@Si is a potential theranostic agent.</p>