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Updated: May 25, 2026

Photodynamic Therapy with Blended Conducting Polymer/Fullerene Nanoparticle Photosensitizers
Published on: October 28, 2015
Internalization of C60 fullerenes into cancer cells with accumulation in the nucleus via the nuclear pore complex
Mustafa Raoof1, Yuri Mackeyev, Matthew A Cheney
1Department of Surgical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77230-1402, USA. mraoof@mdanderson.org
Abstract:
A highly water-soluble, non-ionic, and non-cytotoxic fullerene malonodiserinolamide-derivatized fullerene C(60) (C(60)-ser) is under investigation as a potential nanovector to deliver biologic and cancer drugs across biological barriers. Using laser-scanning confocal microscopy and flow cytometry, we find that PF-633 fluorophore conjugated C(60)-ser nanoparticles (C(60)-serPF) are internalized within living cancer cells in association with serum proteins through multiple energy-dependent pathways, and escape endocytotic vesicles to eventually localize and accumulate in the nucleus of the cells through the nuclear pore complex. Furthermore, in a mouse model of liver cancer, the C(60)-serPF conjugate is detected in most tissues, permeating through the altered vasculature of the tumor and the tightly-regulated blood brain barrier while evading the reticulo-endothelial system.
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