title: Surface modification of the TiO2 nanoparticle surface enables fluorescence monitoring of aggregation and enhanced photoreactivity.
abstract: Chemically and biologically modified nanoparticles are increasingly considered as viable and multifunctional tools to be used in cancer theranostics. Herein, we demonstrate that coordination of alizarin blue black B (ABBB) to the TiO(2) nanoparticle surface enhances the resulting nanoparticles by (1) creating distinct fluorescence emission spectra that differentiate smaller TiO(2) nanoparticles from larger TiO(2) nanoparticle aggregates (both in vitro and intracellular) and (2) enhancing visible light activation of TiO(2) nanoparticles above previously described methods to induce in vitro and intracellular damage to DNA and other targets. ABBB-TiO(2) nanoparticles are characterized through sedimentation, spectral absorbance, and gel electrophoresis. The possible coordination modes of ABBB to the TiO(2) nanoparticle surface are modeled by computational methods. Fluorescence emission spectroscopy studies indicate that ABBB coordination on TiO(2) nanoparticles enables discernment between nanoparticles and nanoparticle aggregates both in vitro and intracellular through fluorescence confocal microscopy. Visible light activated ABBB-TiO(2) nanoparticles are capable of inflicting increased DNA cleavage through localized production of reactive oxygen species as visualized by plasmid DNA damage detected through gel electrophoresis and atomic force microscopy. Finally, visible light excited ABBB-TiO(2) nanoparticles are capable of inflicting damage upon HeLa (cervical cancer) cells by inducing alterations in DNA structure and membrane associated proteins. The multifunctional abilities of these ABBB-TiO(2) nanoparticles to visualize and monitor aggregation in real time, as well as inflict visible light triggered damage upon cancer targets will enhance the use of TiO(2) nanoparticles in cancer theranostics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Whitewater, WI 53190, USA.
authors.forename: Kara
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kamps
authors.forename: Rachael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Leek
authors.forename: Lanette
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Luebke
authors.forename: Race
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Price
authors.forename: Megan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Simonet
authors.forename: David Joeseph
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Eggert
authors.forename: Tülay Aygan
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Ateşin
authors.forename: Eric Michael Bratsolias
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D003287:Contrast Media; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D008422:Materials Testing; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal / Q000379:methods*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; C009495:titanium dioxide; D014025:Titanium