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Visible-light-responsive folate-conjugated titania and alumina nanotubes for photodynamic therapy applications

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Abstract

The use of nanomaterials in photodynamic therapy (PDT) has emerged as a promising alternative to enhance the efficacy and overcome the limitations of conventional photosensitizers. A major challenge in this regard is the development of novel cheap, synthetically convenient and biocompatible photoresponsive nanomaterials for visible-light-driven PDT applications. In this work, folate-conjugated titania and alumina nanotubes were successfully prepared and evaluated as novel photoactive nanomaterials with visible light responsiveness. Nanotubes were prepared by hydrothermal synthesis and surface-conjugated with folic acid using a silane coupling agent. Materials were characterized by ATR, TEM, XRD and TGA methods, and their photophysical properties were assessed from diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, production of reactive oxygen species (1O2 and HO•) and confocal microscopy fluorescence emission experiments. Our results revealed that folate-conjugated titania and alumina nanotubes are photodynamically active upon irradiation with a blue-LED visible light source, whereas pristine nanotubes or free folic acid exhibits negligible photoresponse under the same experimental conditions. In vitro phototoxicity experiments on HeLa cancer cells confirmed the photodynamic efficacy of folate-conjugated materials as inhibitors of cell proliferation after 1 h of blue-LED light irradiation (450 nm, 100 W m−2) in 4 mg/mL solid suspensions. Folate-alumina nanotubes exhibited the highest activity within the nanomaterials under study, which—to the best of our knowledge—constitutes a major advance toward the use of alumina-based nanomaterials in visible-light-driven PDT applications.

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Acknowledgements

Authors acknowledge FONDECYT under Grants 1170426, 1191465 and 11170095 for financial support. Dr. Cecilia Torres thanks to CONICYT, PAI/Concurso Nacional Inserción de Capital Humano Avanzado en la Academia Convocatoria año 2017 PAI 79170027.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Ciencias Químicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Andres Bello, Autopista Concepción-Talcahuano 7100, Talcahuano, Chile

    Verónica A. Jiménez, Nicolás Moreno & Cecilia C. Torres

  2. Laboratorio de Neurobiología Molecular, Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile

    Leonardo Guzmán

  3. Departamento de Físico-Química, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad de Concepción, Edmundo Larenas 129, Concepción, Chile

    Cristian H. Campos

  4. Instituto de Química de Recursos Naturales, Universidad de Talca, Casilla 747, Talca, Chile

    Joel B. Alderete

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  1. Verónica A. Jiménez
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  2. Nicolás Moreno
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  4. Cecilia C. Torres
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Correspondence to Joel B. Alderete.

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Jiménez, V.A., Moreno, N., Guzmán, L. et al. Visible-light-responsive folate-conjugated titania and alumina nanotubes for photodynamic therapy applications. J Mater Sci 55, 6976–6991 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-020-04483-z

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