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Folic Acid Functionalized Carbon Dot/Polypyrrole Nanoparticles for Specific Bioimaging and Photothermal Therapy
Tae Eun Kim1, Hyeon Jeong Jang1, Seok Won Park1
1School of Biomedical Engineering & Department of Nanoscience and Engineering, Inje University, Gimhae, 50834, Republic of Korea.
ACS Applied Bio Materials
|January 11, 2022
Summary
Folic acid-functionalized carbon dots combined with polypyrrole nanoparticles create a targeted theranostic agent. This agent enables specific cancer cell imaging and photothermal therapy, enhancing treatment efficacy.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Nanotechnology
- Cancer Therapy
Background:
- Polypyrrole nanoparticles (PPy-NPs) are effective photothermal therapy (PTT) agents but lack specific targeting, limiting their therapeutic potential.
- Targeted drug delivery systems are crucial for enhancing PTT efficacy and minimizing off-target effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel theranostic agent combining PPy-NPs with folic acid-functionalized carbon dots (FA-CDs) for targeted cancer imaging and PTT.
- To evaluate the targeting specificity, imaging capability, and therapeutic efficacy of the developed FA-CD/PPy-NPs in FR-positive cancer cells.
Main Methods:
- Synthesized FA-CD/PPy-NPs using EDC/NHS coupling reaction for targeted delivery.
- Utilized green fluorescence of FA-CDs for cell imaging and near-infrared absorption of PPy-NPs for PTT.
- Assessed cell viability and cancer cell death using live/dead cell staining and fluorescence imaging.
Main Results:
- FA-CD/PPy-NPs demonstrated excellent photostability and specific imaging of folate receptor (FR)-positive HeLa cancer cells.
- High cell viability (>90%) was observed at high concentrations (500 μg/mL) without laser irradiation.
- NIR laser irradiation significantly decreased HeLa cell viability to 25.02 ± 1.85% at 200 μg/mL, attributed to PTT with high photothermal conversion efficiency (40.80 ± 1.54%).
Conclusions:
- FA-CD/PPy-NPs function as effective multifunctional theranostic agents for targeted bioimaging and PTT of FR-positive cancers.
- The combination of FA-CDs and PPy-NPs overcomes the targeting limitations of traditional PTT agents.
- This theranostic approach holds promise for improved cancer diagnosis and treatment strategies.
