Varzandeh Mohammad, Karbasi Minoo, Labbaf Sheyda, Varshosaz Jaleh, Esmaeil Nafiseh, Birang Reza
Department of Materials Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, 84156-83111, Iran.
Department of Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran.
J Mater Chem B. 2025 Jul 2;13(26):7769-7784. doi: 10.1039/d5tb00096c.
Fabricating innovative nanomaterials for cancer treatment is essential for reducing its morbidity. The present study focuses on synthesizing, evaluating, and utilizing a bismuth nanosheet-reduced graphene oxide (BiNS-rGO) heterostructure for cancer combination therapy. The successful fabrication of the heterostructure with regulated thickness and morphology was confirmed by structural characterization using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Atomic force microscopy indicated the heterostructure height of 1.3 ± 0.95 nm. Moreover, high-resolution TEM confirmed the heterostructure configuration of the nanoparticles with a bismuth nanosheet (BiNS) plane distance of 0.33 nm. Following the evaluation of the photothermal characteristics of the BiNS-rGO heterostructure, it was found that a light-to-heat conversion of = 67.6% was efficient under laser irradiation (3 W cm, 5 min, 50 μg mL, 1064 nm) to increase the temperature from 25 °C to 42.5 °C. The heterostructure demonstrated excellent photothermal stability and recyclability, making it highly promising for photothermal treatment (PTT) applications. At pH 7.4, 30% and 70.5% drug release were observed in 24 h and 240 h, respectively. Both pH and photothermal effect considerably impact the drug release profile. Drug release was increased in an acidic environment (pH 5.0) as opposed to physiological pH (pH 7.4), suggesting pH-sensitive behavior. In particular, over 24 hours, 42% of the medication was released at pH 5.0, while only 30% was released at pH 7.4 during the same time frame. Due to photothermal heating, the release rate increased even more after exposure to one-time NIR laser radiation (3 W cm, 1064 nm). Under the same irradiation settings, drug release reached 52% in 24 hours, much higher than the 42% release at pH 7.4 under light. This implies that quicker drug diffusion was made possible by structural alterations in BiNS-rGO brought about by heat. A BiNS-rGO band gap and flat band potential of 1.86 eV and -0.68 V ( Ag/AgCl), respectively, confirm the radiocatalytic ROS generation. Following 96 h of incubation, the IC value of BiNS-rGO was determined to be 121.30 μg mL MTT assay. Combination therapy showed much lower values, with BiNS-rGO + RT showing 53.41 μg mL and BiNS-rGO + MitoC + PTT + RT showing 19.43 μg mL. Regarding the flow cytometry data, PTT, RT, and MitoC + PTT + RT treatment has shown an apoptosis ratio (early and late) of 36, 71.4, and 97.5%, respectively. Furthermore, the elevation of the caspase-3 apoptotic gene up to 23-fold in combination therapy confirmed the apoptotic cancer cell death pathway. Overall, this research demonstrates the potential of the BiNS-rGO heterostructure as a versatile nano-platform for combination cancer therapy that combines radiation, controlled drug delivery, and photothermal therapy with maximum efficacy and minimal side effects. This research study creates new opportunities for the development of sophisticated nanomaterials for targeted cancer therapy.
制造用于癌症治疗的创新纳米材料对于降低其发病率至关重要。本研究重点在于合成、评估和利用铋纳米片-还原氧化石墨烯(BiNS-rGO)异质结构进行癌症联合治疗。通过傅里叶变换红外光谱、扫描透射电子显微镜和X射线衍射进行结构表征,证实了具有可控厚度和形态的异质结构的成功制备。原子力显微镜显示异质结构高度为1.3±0.95纳米。此外,高分辨率透射电子显微镜证实了纳米颗粒的异质结构构型,铋纳米片(BiNS)平面间距为0.33纳米。在评估BiNS-rGO异质结构的光热特性后发现,在激光照射(3 W/cm²,5分钟,50 μg/mL,1064纳米)下,光热转换效率为67.6%,可将温度从25°C升高到42.5°C。该异质结构表现出优异的光热稳定性和可回收性,使其在光热治疗(PTT)应用中极具前景。在pH 7.4时,分别在24小时和240小时观察到30%和70.5%的药物释放。pH值和光热效应均对药物释放曲线有显著影响。与生理pH值(pH 7.4)相比,在酸性环境(pH 5.0)中药物释放增加,表明具有pH敏感性。特别是,在24小时内,pH 5.0时42%的药物被释放,而在相同时间框架内pH 7.4时仅释放30%。由于光热加热,在单次近红外激光辐射(3 W/cm²,1064纳米)照射后释放速率进一步增加。在相同照射条件下,24小时内药物释放达到52%,远高于光照下pH 7.4时42%的释放率。这意味着热引起的BiNS-rGO结构变化使药物扩散更快成为可能。BiNS-rGO的带隙和平带电位分别为1.86 eV和-0.68 V(Ag/AgCl),证实了放射性催化活性氧的产生。孵育96小时后,通过MTT法测定BiNS-rGO的IC值为121.30 μg/mL。联合治疗显示出更低的值,BiNS-rGO + RT为53.41 μg/mL,BiNS-rGO + MitoC + PTT + RT为19.43 μg/mL。关于流式细胞术数据,PTT、RT和MitoC + PTT + RT治疗的凋亡率(早期和晚期)分别为36%、71.4%和97.5%。此外,联合治疗中caspase-3凋亡基因升高至23倍证实了癌细胞凋亡死亡途径。总体而言,本研究证明了BiNS-rGO异质结构作为一种多功能纳米平台用于癌症联合治疗的潜力,该联合治疗将放射治疗、可控药物递送和光热治疗相结合,具有最大疗效和最小副作用。本研究为开发用于靶向癌症治疗的精密纳米材料创造了新机会。