Oxidized silicon nanoparticles for radiosensitization of cancer and tissue cells

• Autores: Klein, Stefanie; Dell'Arciprete, María Laura; Wegmann, Marc; Distel, Luitpold V.R.; Neuhuber, Winfried; González, Mónica Cristina; Kryschi, Carola
• Año de publicación: 2013
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Materia: Bioquímica; Química; Silicon nanoparticles; Radiosensitizer; Oxidative stress; Reactive oxygen species
• Institución: Universidad Nacional de La Plata

The applicability of ultrasmall uncapped and aminosilanized oxidized silicon nanoparticles (SiNPs and NH2-SiNPs) as radiosensitizer was studied by internalizing these nanoparticles into human breast cancer (MCF-7) and mouse fibroblast cells (3T3) that were exposed to X-rays at a single dose of 3 Gy. While SiNPs did not increase the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in X-ray treated cells, the NH2-S1NPs significantly enhanced the ROS formation. This is due to the amino functionality as providing positive surface charges in aqueous environment. The NH2-S1NPs were observed to penetrate into the mitochondrial membrane, wherein these nanoparticles provoked oxidative stress. The NH2-SiNPs induced mitochondrial ROS production was confirmed by the determination of an increased malondialdehyde level as representing a gauge for the extent of membrane lipid peroxidation. X-ray exposure of NH2-SiNPs incubated MCF-7 and 3T3 cells increased the ROS concentration for 180%, and 120%, respectively. Complementary cytotoxicity studies demonstrate that these silicon nanoparticles are more cytotoxic for MCF- 7 than for 3T3 cells.
Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas