Synergistic effect of TEMPO-coated TiO2 nanorods for PDT applications in MCF-7 cell line model

The role of metal ions in the occurrence, progression, drug resistance, and biological characteristics of gastric cancer

Metal ions exert pivotal functions within the human body, encompassing essential roles in upholding cell structure, gene expression regulation, and catalytic enzyme activity. Additionally, they significantly influence various pathways implicated in divergent mechanisms of cell death. Among the prevailing malignant tumors of the digestive tract worldwide, gastric cancer stands prominent, exhibiting persistent high mortality rates. A compelling body of evidence reveals conspicuous ion irregularities in tumor tissues, encompassing gastric cancer. Notably, metal ions have been observed to elicit distinct contributions to the progression, drug resistance, and biological attributes of gastric cancer. This review consolidates pertinent literature on the involvement of metal ions in the etiology and advancement of gastric cancer. Particular attention is directed towards metal ions, namely, Na, K, Mg, Ca, Fe, Cu, Zn, and Mn, elucidating their roles in the initiation and progression of gastric cancer, cellular demise processes, drug resistance phenomena, and therapeutic approaches.

Targeting cell death pathways for cancer therapy: recent developments in necroptosis, pyroptosis, ferroptosis, and cuproptosis research

Many types of human cells self-destruct to maintain biological homeostasis and defend the body against pathogenic substances. This process, called regulated cell death (RCD), is important for various biological activities, including the clearance of aberrant cells. Thus, RCD pathways represented by apoptosis have increased in importance as a target for the development of cancer medications in recent years. However, because tumor cells show avoidance to apoptosis, which causes treatment resistance and recurrence, numerous studies have been devoted to alternative cancer cell mortality processes, namely necroptosis, pyroptosis, ferroptosis, and cuproptosis; these RCD modalities have been extensively studied and shown to be crucial to cancer therapy effectiveness. Furthermore, evidence suggests that tumor cells undergoing regulated death may alter the immunogenicity of the tumor microenvironment (TME) to some extent, rendering it more suitable for inhibiting cancer progression and metastasis. In addition, other types of cells and components in the TME undergo the abovementioned forms of death and induce immune attacks on tumor cells, resulting in enhanced antitumor responses. Hence, this review discusses the molecular processes and features of necroptosis, pyroptosis, ferroptosis, and cuproptosis and the effects of these novel RCD modalities on tumor cell proliferation and cancer metastasis. Importantly, it introduces the complex effects of novel forms of tumor cell death on the TME and the regulated death of other cells in the TME that affect tumor biology. It also summarizes the potential agents and nanoparticles that induce or inhibit novel RCD pathways and their therapeutic effects on cancer based on evidence from in vivo and in vitro studies and reports clinical trials in which RCD inducers have been evaluated as treatments for cancer patients. Lastly, we also summarized the impact of modulating the RCD processes on cancer drug resistance and the advantages of adding RCD modulators to cancer treatment over conventional treatments.

Synthesis, Characterization, and Application of BaTiO3 Nanoparticles for Anti-Cancer Activity

Barium titanate (BaTiO3) nanoparticles (BTNPs) have been considered as emerging materials in biomedical sector through last decades due to the excellent physicochemical properties such as dielectric and piezoelectric structures, biocompatibility, and nonlinear optical characteristics. In this study, BTNPs were synthesized via the co-precipitation method using barium carbonate and titanium dioxide by stirring for 5 h. Then, it was annealed at 850 °C for 5 h with five different concentrations: 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1 g/mL. The structural, morphological, and optical analyses were demonstrated by different characterization techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Raman, and UV–visible spectroscopy. The perovskite phase of BTNPs, an intense peak at 31.6°, was observed at the lowest concentration (0.2 g/mL), and the average crystalline size was 1.42 nm based on XRD pattern. The results have been justified by SEM and EDX. TGA demonstrated the adequate thermal stability of this material. EDX analysis confirmed the composition of Ti, Ba, and O elements. Raman peaks at 305 cm−1 and 517 cm−1 confirmed the formation of BaTiO3. UV–visible spectra presented that its’ absorbance edge shifted into visible range at 404 nm. Application of BTNPs on breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) presented significant dispersion effect at 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6 g/mL of BaTiO3. A strong toxicity rate of BaTiO3 has been observed against the MCF-7 cell line. Maximum % of cell viability loss, $$\cong$$ ≅ 57% was recorded at 200 µg/mL of BTNPs, and minimum % of cell viability loss was observed as 19% at 50 µg/mL of BTNPs. The results presented that a higher concentration of BTPNs dosage was more effective in inhibition of breast cancer cells. Therefore, BTNPs can be recommended as a promising nanomaterial for anti-cancer drug discovery.

Diverse biotechnological applications of multifunctional titanium dioxide nanoparticles: An up-to-date review

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles (NPs) are one of the topmost widely used metallic oxide nanoparticles. Whether present in naked form or doped with metals or polymers, TiO₂ NPs perform immensely important functions. However, the alteration in size and shape by doping results in improving the physical, chemical, and biological behaviour of TiO₂ NPs. Hence, the differential effects of various TiO₂ nanostructures including nanoflakes, nanoflowers, and nanotubes in various domains of biotechnology have been elucidated by researchers. Recently, the exponential growth of research activities regarding TiO₂ NPs has been observed owing to their chemical stability, low toxicity, and multifaceted properties. Because of their enormous abundance, plants, humans, and environment are inevitably exposed to TiO₂ NPs. These NPs play a significant role in improving agricultural attributes, removing environmental pollution, and upgrading the domain of nanomedicine. Therefore, the currently ongoing studies about the employment of TiO₂ NPs in enhancement of different aspects of agriculture, environment, and medicine have been extensively discussed in this review.

Red Phosphorus Decorated TiO2 Nanorod Mediated Photodynamic and Photothermal Therapy for Renal Cell Carcinoma

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is a serious and tenacious disease. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT) are effective means of cancer treatment. However, PDT combined with PTT has been rarely reported in ccRCC treatment. In the present study, by developing the core-shell structured TiO₂ @red phosphorus nanorods (TiO₂ @RP NRs) as a photosensitizer, the feasibility and effectiveness of synchronous PDT and PTT treatments for ccRCC are demonstrated. The core-shell structured TiO₂ @RP NRs are synthesized to drive the PDT and PTT for ccRCC, in which the RP shell is the sensitizer even in the near-infrared (NIR) region. The optimized TiO₂ @RP NRs can respond to NIR and produce local heat under irradiation. The NRs are estimated in ccRCC treatments via cell counting kit-8 assay, propidium iodide staining, qRT-PCR, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) probes in vitro, while terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling is conducted in vivo. After NIR irradiation, TiO₂ @RP NRs can efficiently kill ccRCC cells by producing local heat and ROS and cause low injury to normal kidney cells. Furthermore, treatment with TiO₂ @RP NRs and NIR can kill significant numbers of deep-tissue ccRCC cells in vivo. This work highlights a promising photo-driven therapy for kidney cancer.

Mathematical modeling and experimental analysis of the efficacy of photodynamic therapy in conjunction with photo thermal therapy and PEG-coated Au-doped TiO2 nanostructures to target MCF-7 cancerous cells

Some nanoscale morphologies of titanium oxide nanostructures blend with gold nanoparticles and act as satellites and targeted weapon methodologies in biomedical applications. Simultaneously, titanium oxide can play an important role when combined with gold after blending with polyethylene glycol (PEG). Our experimental approach is novel with respect to the plasmonic role of metal nanoparticles as an efficient PDT drug. The current experimental strategy floats the comprehensive and facile way of experimental strategy on the critical influence that titanium with gold nanoparticles used as novel photosensitizing agents after significant biodistribution of proposed nanostructures toward targeted site. In addition, different morphologies of PEG-coated Au-doped titanium nanostructures were shown to provide various therapeutic effects due to a wide range of electromagnetic field development. This confirms a significantly amplified population of hot electron generation adjacent to the interface between Au and TiO₂ nanostructures, leading to maximum cancerous cell injury in the MCF-7 cell line. The experimental results were confirmed by applying a least squares fit math model which verified our results with 99% goodness of fit. These results can pave the way for comprehensive rational designs for satisfactory response of performance phototherapeutic model mechanisms along with new horizons of photothermal therapy (HET) and photodynamic therapy (HET) operating under visible and near-infrared (NIR) light.

Nucleus-Targeted Photosensitizer Nanoparticles for Photothermal and Photodynamic Therapy of Breast Carcinoma

PURPOSE

The near-infrared fluorescent dye indocyanine green (ICG) has shown great potential in the photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT) of cancer. However, its disadvantages of instability in aqueous solution, short half-life, and non-targeting accumulation limit the effectiveness of ICG PDT/PTT. To overcome the disadvantages of ICG in tumor treatment, we designed PEGylated-human serum albumin (PHSA)-ICG-TAT. In this nanoparticle, PEG4000, the HSA package, and nuclear targeting peptide TAT (human immunodeficiency virus 1 [HIV-1]-transactivator protein) were used to improve the water solubility of ICG, prolong the life span of ICG in vivo, and target the nuclei of tumor cells, respectively.

METHODS

The PHSA-ICG-TAT was characterized in terms of morphology and size, ultraviolet spectrum, dispersion stability, singlet oxygen and cellular uptake, and colocalization using transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering, and fluorescence assay, respectively. Subsequently, the anti-tumor effect of PHSA-ICG-TAT was investigated via in vitro and in vivo experiments, including cell viability, apoptosis, comet assays, histopathology, and inhibition curves.

RESULTS

The designed ICG-loaded nanoparticle had a higher cell uptake rate and stronger PDT/PTT effect than free ICG. The metabolism of PHSA-ICG-TAT in normal mice revealed that there was no perceptible toxicity. In vivo imaging of mice showed that PHSA-ICG-TAT had a good targeting effect on tumors. PHSA-ICG-TAT was used for the phototherapy of tumors, and significantly suppressed the tumor growth. The tumor tissue sections showed that the cell gap and morphology of the tumor tissue had been obviously altered after treatment with PHSA-ICG-TAT.

CONCLUSION

These results indicate that the PHSA-ICG-TAT had a significant therapeutic effect against tumors.

Manganese-doped cerium oxide nanocomposite as a therapeutic agent for MCF-7 adenocarcinoma cell line

The preparation of a manganese-doped cerium oxide (Mn:CeO₂) nanocomposite via hydrothermal route is described. Cubic fluorite structure of single phase was exhibited by studying structural analysis through x-ray diffraction (XRD) technique and morphological analysis was conducted by scanning electron microscope. Surface analytic technique of energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX) was conducted to analyze the relative amount of any impurity and doping. Structural changes due to manganese doping such as increment in production of vacancies of oxygen within crystal of cerium oxide, and reduction in size of crystallite and constant of lattice was observed in our research study. Moreover, the Mn:CeO₂ nanocomposite demonstrates differential cytotoxicity against MCF-7 adenocarcinoma cell line, which renders it a promising candidate for targeted cancer therapy. The anti-tumorous activity of the cerium oxide nanocomposite was significantly enhanced with doping of manganese, which is directly linked with the generation of highly reactive oxygen facets. The experimental results are supported by a mathematical model that confirms a confidence level of 95%. This research has paved the way for many utilities in therapeutics and magnetic resonance imaging diagnostics through new observations, and hence verified their math model.