Organotin(IV)-Decorated Graphene Quantum Dots as Dual Platform for Molecular Imaging and Treatment of Triple Negative Breast Cancer
Abstract
The pharmacological activity of organotin(IV) complexes in cancer therapy is well recognized but their large applicability is hampered by their poor water solubility. Hence, carbon dots, in particular nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots (NGQDs), may be a promising alternative for the efficient delivery of organotin(IV) compounds as they have a substantial aqueous solubility, a good chemical stability, and non-toxicity as well as a bright photoluminescence that make them ideal for theranostic applications against cancer. Two different multifunctional nanosystems have been synthesized and fully characterized based on two fragments of organotin-based cytotoxic compounds and 4-formylbenzoic acid (FBA), covalently grafted onto the NGQDs surface. Subsequently, an in vitro determination of the therapeutic and theranostic potential of the achieved multifunctional systems was carried out. The results showed a high cytotoxic potential of the NGQDs-FBA-Sn materials against breast cancer cell line (MDA-MB-231) and a lower effect on a non-cancer cell line (kidney cells, HEK293T). Besides, thanks to their optical properties, the dots enabled their fluorescence molecular imaging in the cytoplasmatic region of the cells pointing towards a successful cellular uptake and a release of the metallodrug inside cancer cells (NGQDs-FBA-Sn).
Description
Dedicated to Professor Evamarie Hey-Hawkins, an inspiration for the new generation of inorganic chemists. Ministerio de Universidades. Grant Number: UP2021-001 Ministerstvo Školství, Mládeže a Tělovýchovy. Grant Numbers: CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/20_079/0017045, LM2018110; LM2018121 Instituto de Salud Carlos III. Grant Number: DTS20/00109 Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. Grant Numbers: PID2022-136417NB-I00, CEX2020-001041-S, RED2022-134091-T
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