Islam Sk Najrul, Naqvi Syed Mohd Adnan, Gorain Mahadeo, Roy Gaurab, Kundu Gopal C, Ahmad Absar
Interdisciplinary Nanotechnology Centre (INC), Z. H. College of Engineering and Technology, Aligarh Muslim University, AMU, Aligarh 202002, Uttar Pradesh, India.
National Centre for Cell Science, Pune 411007, Maharashtra, India.
ACS Appl Bio Mater. 2025 Jan 20;8(1):410-419. doi: 10.1021/acsabm.4c01378. Epub 2025 Jan 2.
The burgeoning field of nanomedicine is exploring quantum dots for cancer theranostics. In recent years, chemically engineered copper sulfide (CuS) quantum dots (QDs) have emerged as a multifunctional platform for fluorescence-based sensors with prominent applications in imaging and chemodynamic therapy of tumor cells. The present study demonstrates the sustainable synthesis of nitrogen-embedded copper sulfide (N@CuS) quantum dots for the first time and unveils their potential application in in vitro and in vivo breast cancer management. The N@CuS QDs were morphologically analyzed by using TEM, revealing an average particle size of 5.4 nm. Their crystalline phase, nitrogen embedding, and luminescence properties were further investigated with XRD, XPS, and PL spectrometers, respectively. The in vitro cytotoxicity studies revealed that N@CuS QDs effectively inhibited the proliferation of both human (MDA-MB-231) and mouse (4T1) breast cancer cells while not damaging normal mouse fibroblast (NIH/3T3) cells. Furthermore, the in vivo investigation showed a significant reduction in tumor volume with a tumor growth inhibition of 63.52% in QD-treated mice, which was further supported by bioluminescence and fluorescence tumor imaging. Additionally, the organ-specific histopathological analysis validated the safety profile of the N@CuS QDs. The robust anticancer properties and high biocompatibility of N@CuS QDs underscore their potential as a promising option for breast cancer therapy, paving the way for future clinical applications.
新兴的纳米医学领域正在探索将量子点用于癌症的诊断与治疗。近年来，化学工程合成的硫化铜（CuS）量子点已成为基于荧光的传感器的多功能平台，在肿瘤细胞成像和化学动力学治疗中有着重要应用。本研究首次展示了氮嵌入硫化铜（N@CuS）量子点的可持续合成，并揭示了其在体外和体内乳腺癌治疗中的潜在应用。通过透射电子显微镜（TEM）对N@CuS量子点进行形态分析，结果显示其平均粒径为5.4纳米。分别使用X射线衍射仪（XRD）、X射线光电子能谱仪（XPS）和光致发光（PL）光谱仪进一步研究了它们的晶相、氮嵌入情况和发光特性。体外细胞毒性研究表明，N@CuS量子点能有效抑制人源（MDA-MB-231）和鼠源（4T1）乳腺癌细胞的增殖，同时不会损伤正常小鼠成纤维细胞（NIH/3T3）。此外，体内研究显示，经量子点处理的小鼠肿瘤体积显著减小，肿瘤生长抑制率为63.52%，生物发光和荧光肿瘤成像进一步证实了这一点。此外，器官特异性组织病理学分析验证了N@CuS量子点的安全性。N@CuS量子点强大的抗癌特性和高生物相容性突出了其作为乳腺癌治疗的一个有前景选择的潜力，为未来的临床应用铺平了道路。
