An In Vitro Study of the Photodynamic Effectiveness of GO-Ag Nanocomposites against Human Breast Cancer Cells

• Published in: Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 7; no. 11; p. 401
• Main Authors: Shaheen, Fozia, Hammad Aziz, Muhammad, Fakhar-e-Alam, Muhammad, Atif, Muhammad, Fatima, Mahvish, Ahmad, Riaz, Hanif, Atif, Anwar, Saqib, Zafar, Fatima, Abbas, Ghazanfar, Ali, Syed, Ahmed, Mukhtar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 21.11.2017; MDPI
• Subjects: Apoptosis; Atomic force microscopy; biocompatibility; Breast cancer; Cancer; Cell death; Cytotoxicity; Darkness; Electron microscopy; Energy transmission; Functional groups; Graphene; graphene oxide (GO); Microscopy; Nanocomposites; Nanoparticles; Nuclear electric power generation; Photodynamic therapy; Phototoxicity; Reactive oxygen species; reactive oxygen species (ROS); Scanning electron microscopy; Silver; Spectroscopy; Statistical analysis; Statistical methods; Toxicity; Transmission electron microscopy; X-ray diffraction; reactive oxygen species (ROS); biocompatibility; photodynamic therapy; cytotoxicity; graphene oxide (GO)
• ISSN: 2079-4991; 2079-4991
• DOI: 10.3390/nano7110401

Graphene-based materials have garnered significant attention because of their versatile bioapplications and extraordinary properties. Graphene oxide (GO) is an extremely oxidized form of graphene accompanied by the functional groups of oxygen on its surface. GO is an outstanding platform on which to pacify silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs), which gives rise to the graphene oxide-silver nanoparticle (GO-Ag) nanocomposite. In this experimental study, the toxicity of graphene oxide-silver (GO-Ag) nanocomposites was assessed in an in vitro human breast cancer model to optimize the parameters of photodynamic therapy. GO-Ag was prepared using the hydrothermal method, and characterization was done by X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-rays Analysis (EDAX), atomic force microscopy and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. The experiments were done both with laser exposure, as well as in darkness, to examine the phototoxicity and cytotoxicity of the nanocomposites. The cytotoxicity of the GO-Ag was confirmed via a methyl-thiazole-tetrazolium (MTT) assay and intracellular reactive oxygen species production analysis. The phototoxic effect explored the dose-dependent decrease in the cell viability, as well as provoked cell death via apoptosis. An enormously significant escalation of 1O2 in the samples when exposed to daylight was perceived. Statistical analysis was performed on the experimental results to confirm the worth and clarity of the results, with p-values < 0.05 selected as significant. These outcomes suggest that GO-Ag nanocomposites could serve as potential candidates for targeted breast cancer therapy.