Jaksic Karisik Milica, Jović Orsini Nataša, Carkic Jelena, Lazarevic Milos, Mitić Dijana, Jokanovic Bojan, Jokanović Vukoman, Milasin Jelena
School of Dental Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia.
Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences-National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, P.O. Box 522, 11001 Belgrade, Serbia.
J Funct Biomater. 2025 Mar 19;16(3):109. doi: 10.3390/jfb16030109.
Oral cancer is an aggressive malignancy with modest survival rates. It also causes disfigurement following surgical removal of the tumor, thus highlighting the need for new cancer treatment and tissue repair modalities. Carbon-based nanomaterials have emerged as promising tools in both anticancer and regenerative therapies.
We aimed to synthesize a new carbon-based nanomaterial (CBN) and test its antineoplastic effects, as well as its potential regenerative capacity.
A carbon nanomaterial, obtained by ball milling graphite flakes, was functionalized with polyvinylpyrrolidone (CBN/PVP). Its physicochemical properties were explored with X-ray diffraction (XRD), attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), micro-Raman spectroscopy, fluorescent and scanning electron microscopy, and wettability analysis. For the antineoplastic effects investigation, oral cancer cells were treated with CBN/PVP and examined with MTT and migration assays, as well as cell-cycle and ROS production analyses. Gene expression was determined by qPCR. To examine the pro-regenerative capacity of CBN/PVP, dental pulp stem cell cultures (DPSCs) were treated with the nanomaterial and subjected to osteo- and chondro-induction.
Lower concentrations of CBN/PVP (50, 100 μg/mL) applied on cancer cells exerted remarkable cytotoxic effects, induced G1 cell-cycle arrest, and reduced cancer cell invasion potential by different mechanisms, including downregulation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. In contrast, the addition of 50 µg/mL of CBN/PVP to DPSCs stimulated their survival and proliferation. CBN/PVP significantly enhanced both the osteogenic ( < 0.05) and chondrogenic ( < 0.01) induction of DPSCs.
The novel carbon-based nanomaterial displays unique characteristics, making it suitable in anticancer and regenerative therapies concomitantly.
口腔癌是一种侵袭性恶性肿瘤，生存率较低。肿瘤手术切除后还会导致面部毁容，因此凸显了对新型癌症治疗和组织修复方式的需求。碳基纳米材料已成为抗癌和再生治疗中有前景的工具。
我们旨在合成一种新型碳基纳米材料（CBN），并测试其抗肿瘤作用及其潜在的再生能力。
通过球磨石墨片获得的碳纳米材料用聚乙烯吡咯烷酮进行功能化处理（CBN/PVP）。用X射线衍射（XRD）、衰减全反射傅里叶变换红外光谱（ATR-FTIR）、显微拉曼光谱、荧光和扫描电子显微镜以及润湿性分析来探究其物理化学性质。为了研究抗肿瘤作用，用CBN/PVP处理口腔癌细胞，并通过MTT和迁移实验以及细胞周期和活性氧产生分析进行检测。通过qPCR测定基因表达。为了检测CBN/PVP的促再生能力，用该纳米材料处理牙髓干细胞培养物（DPSCs），并进行成骨和成软骨诱导。
较低浓度（50、100μg/mL）的CBN/PVP作用于癌细胞时发挥了显著的细胞毒性作用，诱导G1期细胞周期停滞，并通过不同机制降低癌细胞的侵袭潜能，包括下调PI3K/AKT/mTOR通路。相比之下，向DPSCs中添加50μg/mL的CBN/PVP可刺激其存活和增殖。CBN/PVP显著增强了DPSCs的成骨诱导作用（<0.05）和成软骨诱导作用（<0.01）。
这种新型碳基纳米材料具有独特的特性，使其同时适用于抗癌和再生治疗。
