Rodrigues Jordane S, Brandão Pedro, Duarte Sofia O D, da Silveira Izabela Boueri, Leite Maria de Fátima, Gonçalves Max P, Borsagli Fernanda G L Medeiros, Fonte Pedro
Institute of Engineering, Science and Technology, Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri/UFVJM, Av. 01, 4050 Cidade Universitária, Janaúba 39440-039, MG, Brazil.
iBB-Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Department of Bioengineering, Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisboa, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal.
Pharmaceutics. 2024 Nov 22;16(12):1500. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics16121500.
: The development of innovative materials for disease diagnostics and therapeutics is a fast-growing area of scientific research. In this work, we report the development of innovative hydrogels incorporating carbon dots (Cdots) for bioimaging purposes. : The Cdots were prepared using a sustainable and low-cost process, starting with an underused fiber from the Brazilian semiarid region. Spectroscopy analysis (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy), X-ray diffraction, photoluminescence, zeta potential, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy were used to characterize these hydrogels. In addition, biocompatibility using the resazurin assay and cellular uptake by confocal microscopy were evaluated. : Our results showed that the Cdots changed the structure and crystallinity of hydrogels, mainly due to heat treatment. In addition, hydrogels' chemical groups suffer red and blue shifts following the Cdots incorporation. Moreover, the Cdots were homogeneously incorporated into the hydrogel matrix. Importantly, the cytotoxicity levels were maintained above 90% ( < 0.01), and cellular uptake studies using HeLa cells demonstrated intracellular fluorescence of both the Cdots and hydrogels after incubation. Additionally, the concentration of Cdots within hydrogels significantly affected fluorescence intensity, even compared with pure Cdots. : These results showcase the potential for these hydrogels to be further developed as biomarkers and therapeutic biomaterials for women's health.
用于疾病诊断和治疗的创新材料的开发是一个快速发展的科研领域。在这项工作中，我们报告了为生物成像目的而开发的含有碳点（Cdots）的创新水凝胶。Cdots是使用一种可持续且低成本的工艺制备的，起始原料是来自巴西半干旱地区一种未充分利用的纤维。使用光谱分析（傅里叶变换红外光谱、X射线光电子能谱、紫外可见光谱）、X射线衍射、光致发光、zeta电位、扫描电子显微镜和透射电子显微镜对这些水凝胶进行表征。此外，还使用刃天青测定法评估了生物相容性，并通过共聚焦显微镜评估了细胞摄取情况。我们的结果表明，主要由于热处理，Cdots改变了水凝胶的结构和结晶度。此外，在掺入Cdots后，水凝胶的化学基团发生了红移和蓝移。而且，Cdots被均匀地掺入水凝胶基质中。重要的是，细胞毒性水平保持在90%以上（<0.01），并且使用HeLa细胞进行的细胞摄取研究表明，孵育后Cdots和水凝胶在细胞内均有荧光。此外，与纯Cdots相比，水凝胶中Cdots的浓度显著影响荧光强度。这些结果展示了这些水凝胶作为女性健康生物标志物和治疗性生物材料进一步开发的潜力。
