Targeting acute myeloid leukemia cells by CD33 receptor-specific MoS₂-based nanoconjugates

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Nanotechnology
• Oncology

Background:

• Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is an aggressive cancer treated with chemotherapy, which causes severe side effects due to damage to healthy cells.
• Targeted therapies using nanomaterials offer a promising alternative by selectively targeting cancer cells.
• Two-dimensional molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanomaterials show potential for cancer diagnosis and therapy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the targeted delivery of MoS2-based nanocarriers to Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) cells.
• To functionalize MoS2 nanoflakes with anti-CD33 antibodies for specific binding to AML cells.
• To evaluate the cellular uptake and specificity of functionalized MoS2 nanomaterials in AML models.

Main Methods:

• Facile exfoliation of MoS2 nanoflakes.
• Functionalization of MoS2 nanoflakes with anti-CD33 antibodies.
• Confocal laser scanning microscopy and confocal Raman microscopy for cellular imaging.
• Flow cytometry for assessing cellular uptake.

Main Results:

• MoS2 nanoflakes functionalized with anti-CD33 antibodies successfully targeted and were internalized by SKM-1 AML cells.
• Microscopic analyses confirmed the presence of (anti-CD33)-MoS2 conjugates on the cell surface and within AML cells.
• Cellular uptake of specific (anti-CD33)-MoS2 conjugates was significantly higher than non-specific (anti-GPC3)-MoS2 conjugates.

Conclusions:

• Functionalization of MoS2 nanomaterials with tumor-specific antibodies enhances targeting specificity for AML cells.
• MoS2-based nanocarriers show potential for targeted diagnosis and therapy of AML.
• This approach could lead to more effective AML treatments with fewer side effects.