Gold nanoparticle-enhanced Photodynamic therapy: Effects of Surface Charge and Mitochondrial Targeting

Abstract

Aim: The authors aimed to further improve the efficiency and selectivity of gold nanoparticle (Au NP)-assisted photodynamic therapy by modulating the surface charge of Au NPs and delivering Au NPs particularly to mitochondria of breast cancer cells. Methods: Solid gold nanospheres (~50 nm) with negative and positive surface charge were synthesized respectively, and mitochondria-targeting Au NPs were prepared by conjugating with triphenylphosphonium molecules. Conclusion: Positively charged Au NPs were preferably taken up by breast cancer cells. Combination of positive surface charge with mitochondria-targeting domain onto Au NPs allowed their accumulation in the mitochondria of breast cancer cells to significantly elevate reactive oxygen species formation in 5-aminolevulinic-acid-enabled photodynamic therapy and improve selective destruction of breast cancer cells.

Supplementary data

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank MK Khaing Oo (Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan) for technical discussion, S Sukhishvili (Department of Chemistry, Chemical Biology and Biomedical Engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology) for the use of the Nano-ZS Zetasizer and FTIR, and Dr. Thomas Cattabiani (Department of Chemistry, Chemical Biology and Biomedical Engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology) for scientific reading of the manuscript.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

Y Yang is supported by the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Doctoral Fellowship from Stevens Institute of Technology. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Ethical conduct of research

The authors state that they have obtained appropriate insti­tutional review board approval or have followed the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki for all human or animal experimental investigations. In addition, for investigations involving human subjects, informed consent has been obtained from the participants involved.