title: Activity of psoralen-functionalized nanoscintillators against cancer cells upon X-ray excitation.
abstract: We report development of a nanoparticle-based, X-ray-activated anticancer "nanodrug" composed of yttrium oxide (Y(2)O(3)) nanoscintillators, a fragment of the HIV-1 TAT peptide, and psoralen. In this formulation, X-ray radiation is absorbed by the Y(2)O(3) nanoscintillators, which then emit UVA light. Absorption of UVA photons by nanoparticle-tethered psoralen has the potential to cross-link adenine and thymine residues in DNA. UVA-induced cross-linking by free psoralen upon activation with UVA light has previously been shown to cause apoptosis in vitro and an immunogenic response in vivo. Studies using the PC-3 human prostate cancer cell line demonstrate that X-ray excitation of these psoralen-functionalized Y(2)O(3) nanoscintillators yields concentration-dependent reductions in cell number when compared to control cultures containing psoralen-free Y(2)O(3) nanoscintillators.
authors.affiliation: Fitzpatrick Institute for Photonics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, United States.
authors.forename: Jonathan P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Scaffidi
authors.forename: Molly K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Gregas
authors.forename: Benoit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lauly
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Tuan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vo-Dinh
mesh_terms: D000225:Adenine / Q000737:chemistry; D017209:Apoptosis; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry; D004354:Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor / Q000379:methods; D005363:Ficusin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D011701:PUVA Therapy / Q000379:methods; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D013941:Thymine / Q000737:chemistry; D014965:X-Rays; D015019:Yttrium / Q000737:chemistry; D054322:tat Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D054322:tat Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus; D015019:Yttrium; D004247:DNA; D000225:Adenine; D005363:Ficusin; D013941:Thymine; C091417:yttria