Use of Ag-Au-ICG to increase fluorescence image of human hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines.

Indocyanine green (ICG) is effective for a variety of applications including liver tumour imaging and operates in the near-infrared window. Agents for near-infrared imaging are, however, still in clinical development. The present study aimed to prepare and investigate fluorescence emission properties of ICG in combination with Ag-Au in order to enhance their specific interactions with human hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines (HepG-2). The Ag-Au-ICG complex was prepared via physical adsorption, and hence evaluated for fluorescence spectra using a spectrophotometer. Ag-Au-ICG at an optimised dosage (Ag-Au:ICG = 0.0147:1 molar ratio) in Intralipid medium was added to HepG-2 to observe the maximum fluorescence signal intensity, which further enhanced HepG-2 contrast fluorescence. Ag-Au-ICG served as a fluorescence enhancer bound onto the liposome membrane, whilst free Ag, Au, and pure ICG induced low levels of cytotoxicity in HepG-2 and a normal human cell line. Thus, our findings provided new insights for the liver cancer imaging.HighlightsConcentration-dependent fluorescence peaking in the near-infrared window revealed ICG aggregation in Ag-Au molecules.Ag-Au-ICG fluorescence intensity depended strongly on the environmental media.Human hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines treated with Ag-Au-ICG in Intralipid enhanced the contrast of fluorescence microscopy images by decreasing the level of scattering in the cell lines with the contrast values being approximately five times those observed in pure ICG in Intralipid.

Evaluation of a docetaxel-cisplatin-fluorouracil-Au complex in human oral carcinoma cell line.

Higher tobacco and alcohol use have led to a consistent increase in head and neck cancer incidence rates. Currently employed chemotherapeutic and surgical treatment are associated with significant drawbacks. Herein, we evaluated the anti-tumour effect of gold nanoparticles as a vehicle for the delivery of a triple chemotherapy drug formulation and elucidated the potential underlying mechanism. The hydrodynamic size of docetaxel, cisplatin, and 5-fluorouracil physically co-adsorbed on Au nanoparticles was 56 ± 0.8 nm, showing a negative zeta potential. Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy data confirmed that the triple chemotherapy drug successfully interacted with the gold nano-carrier. Au nanoparticles exhibited high loading efficacy of docetaxel (61%), cisplatin (75%), and 5-fluorouracil (90%), with a controlled drug release profile at 24 h. The triple chemotherapy drug formulation was tested in human oral cavity cancer cell line (KB). Cytotoxicity achieved through a synergistic effect between the treatments led to apoptosis, with a lower half-maximal inhibitory concentration indicating higher cytotoxicity than that of plain docetaxel-cisplatin-fluorouracil. Taken together, we demonstrated that the docetaxel-cisplatin-fluorouracil-gold complex exhibited excellent cytotoxicity in KB cells, superior to that docetaxel-cisplatin-fluorouracil.HIGHLIGHTSThe docetaxel-cisplatin-fluorouracil-Au complex showed a controlled drug-release profile at 24 h.The docetaxel-cisplatin-fluorouracil-Au complex exhibited enhanced internalisation efficiency in cells.Au nanoparticles were biocompatible, with no change in apoptosis among cell line.Spherical Au nanoparticles allowed a high volume of incorporated docetaxel, cisplatin, and 5-fluorouracil to steadily attach onto cells.

Use of zinc oxide nanoparticles for detection of fluoride in toothpaste gel.

This study aimed to investigate the metal-binding effect of fluoride, contained in different commercial toothpaste gels; the study aimed to determine if the toothpastes contained excessive concentrations of fluoride, which result in white spot lesions. A spectrophotometric method that used spectrophotometric reagents, including zinc oxide nanoparticles and iron chloride, was used to determine fluoride distribution; the analysis was based on the selective attack of fluoride ions on metals. Fluoride concentrations between 0 and 1450 ppm were analyzed. Although the iron-fluoride complex was a more sensitive reagent, the zinc-fluoride complex could serve as a suitable alternative to it for fluoride analysis, partly because the method was less time consuming and more stable. The detection and quantification limits obtained from the linear calibration curves of the zinc-fluoride complexes, in deionized water, were 0.191:1 and 0.579:1 w/w ZnO, respectively. A model calibration curve was suggested to detect the unknown products of fluoride degradation. Dentists could use a fluoride treatment similar to the protocol used in this study, to prevent potential enamel demineralization, and exclude physical cavity preparation and restoration.

Effective detection of ZnO in nicotine using butterfly wing scales.

This study aimed to elucidate the optical functions of naturally butterfly wing scales via precise control of morphology as an effective photonic sensor and confirm the content of metal oxide nanoparticles in surrounding nicotine. Metal oxide nanoparticles mixed with nicotine were deposited on the wing scales through the spin-coating method and hence investigated using optical microscopy and spectroscopy. Experimental results demonstrated that absorption intensities of ZnO and TiO2 mixed with nicotine on Danaus genutia were remarkably enhanced. Due to the relatively high concentration of zinc found in e-cigarette aerosol, the intensity of ZnO/nicotine modelled as aerosol adsorption on Danaus genutia, further held a certain linear relationship with the concentration of ZnO. The limit of detection of ZnO was as low as 1 nM. The working mechanism of our sensor was explained through the molecular adsorption after H-bond formation of ZnO/nicotine molecules as high-index materials on the wing scales of Danaus genutia without aggregation. This photonic sensor is an alternative to the present-day methods for the rapid test of ZnO content, which is very simple without complicated instrumentation. Furthermore, our method might become a starting point for the advancement of portable instruments for onsite ZnO detection.

Antitumor activities of carboplatin-doxorubicin-ZnO complexes in different human cancer cell lines (breast, cervix uteri, colon, liver and oral) under UV exposition.

This study aimed to examine the pharmacological profiles of multiple chemo drug candidates in systematic circulation to enhance their specific interactions with five human cancer cell lines. ZnO nanoparticles were successfully bound with chemo drugs via physical adsorption. The drug loading capacity was confirmed by FTIR, whereas the loading efficiency was determined via UV-vis spectrometry. The mean hydrodynamic size increased to 69-82 nm after chemo-drug immobilization via non-covalent interaction with ZnO. Among the nine formulated chemo drugs, the carboplatin (CP)-doxorubicin (DOX)-ZnO complex under UV light irradiation exhibited high sensitivity towards human breast adenocarcinoma cells without affecting human keratinocyte immortal cells with an IC50 of 0.137 µg/mL, whereas the loading capacity and efficiency of CP-DOX-ZnO were 77.81% and 99.05%, respectively. Fluorescence images confirmed that CP-DOX-ZnO using DOX served as a fluorescence enhancer specifically bound onto the cell membranes, which became almost saturated after 24 h incubation. Carboplatin-DOX-ZnO was possibly endocytosed by cancer cells and was selectively internalized into the target cells; thus, free chemo drug was released in the cytoplasm, which induced acute apoptosis. This resulted in complete inhabitation of growth signal of target cancer cells.

Efficiency of tooth bleaching agent on staining and discoloration characteristics of nicotine stained dental enamel model.

BACKGROUND: Surface staining and deeper discoloration characteristics of peroxide-based bleaching agents in the nicotine stain in dental enamel model were evaluated in the present study. METHODS: Nicotine stained dental enamel fragments (n = 36) were prepared and were subjected to the bleaching ingredients for a fixed treatment time of 30 min. The bleaching agents were composed of limonene, coconut diethanolamide, and carbamide peroxide served as solvent, nonionic surfactant, and oxidizer, respectively. Optical analysis was carried out considering color stability via colorimeter and UV-Vis spectrometer. RESULTS: Degrees of color variations were significantly influenced by nicotine content and bleaching ingredient factors. They varied in the range of approximately 3.00 and 5.00 units for all tooth-bleaching agents. The most prominent degrees of color variation elevations were obtained in the tooth bleaching formulae set #2 (1.0% limonene + 20% coconut diethanolamide) in the stained tooth model in comparison to set #1 (0.5% limonene + 10% coconut diethanolamide) and set #3 (1.5% limonene + 30% coconut diethanolamide), partly due to the perceptible color changes. The lowest degree of color variation under a dose limitation was found in the tooth bleaching formulae set #2 + 10% carbamide peroxide formulation. Absorbance spectra were also evaluated after the interaction of bleaching treatment. They confirmed a relationship between nicotine content and discoloration characteristics of the tooth bleaching formulae set #2 + 10% carbamide peroxide. CONCLUSIONS: Carbamide peroxide is considered as generator of free radicals. It converts the color of stains to clear by oxidizing the organic compounds in the stained dental enamel model, achieving whiteness enhancement.

Efficacy of nanodiamond-doxorubicin complexes on human breast adenocarcinoma cell lines.

This paper aims to demonstrate the efficacy of the immobilisation of the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin on nanodiamond platforms as a potential cancer therapy. This effective drug is experimentally fed into a human breast adenocarcinoma cell lines. Drug loading activity and cell viability are detected by spectrometer, microscopy, and MTT assay in this study at Biomedical Physics Research Unit, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Bangkok 10520, Thailand between 1 Oct 2018 and 10 Jun 2019. Experimental results show that in the basic environment (pH = 8.0), the nanodiamond carboxylic group cooperated with the doxorubicin amino group to form a stable and non-covalent bond on nanodiamond surfaces served as a simple physical adsorption. In an acidic environment suitable to targeting the cancer cells, the nanodiamond carboxylic group ionised so that doxorubicin is effectively released. Doxorubicin therefore affirmatively absorbed into the cytoplasm and later into the nucleus. The significant finding of the study is that IC-50 equivalent to 0.40 mg/mL and viable nanodiamond-doxorubicin is a good candidate material for drug delivery.