title: Folate-grafted boron nitride nanotubes: possible exploitation in cancer therapy.
abstract: Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) have generated considerable interest among the scientific community because of their unique physical and chemical properties. They present good chemical inertness, high thermal stability, and optimal resistance to oxidation, that make them ideal candidates for biomedical applications, in particular as nanovectors for drug, gene and protein delivery into the cells. In this study, BNNTs were prepared through a synthesis based on a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method, and thereafter chemically functionalized with folic acid. The obtained nanostructures have been characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The characterization showed efficiently functionalized BNNTs of length of about 1 μm. Furthermore, confocal laser microscopy demonstrated that our nanotubes can be fluorescently-traced under appropriate excitation. Thanks to this property, it has been possible to investigate their internalization by HeLa cells through confocal microscopy, demonstrating that the BNNT up-take clearly increases after the functionalization with folate, a result confirmed by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) assessment of boron content inside the treated cell cultures.
authors: SENAN - Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear - CDTN/CNEN, Av. Presidente Antônio Carlos 6627 - Campus da UFMG, Belo Horizonte, MG CEP 30270-901, Brazil.
authors: Tiago H
authors: TH
authors: Ferreira
authors: Center for Micro-BioRobotics @SSSA, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, Pontedera, Pisa 56025, Italy; The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, Pontedera, Pisa 56025, Italy.
authors: Attilio
authors: A
authors: Marino
authors: Center for Micro-BioRobotics @SSSA, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, Pontedera, Pisa 56025, Italy; The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, Pontedera, Pisa 56025, Italy.
authors: Antonella
authors: A
authors: Rocca
authors: Nanophysics Department, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Morego 30, Genova 16163, Italy.
authors: Ioannis
authors: I
authors: Liakos
authors: Nanochemistry Department, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Morego 30, Genova 16163, Italy.
authors: Simone
authors: S
authors: Nitti
authors: Nanophysics Department, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Morego 30, Genova 16163, Italy.
authors: Athanassia
authors: A
authors: Athanassiou
authors: Center for Micro-BioRobotics @SSSA, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, Pontedera, Pisa 56025, Italy.
authors: Virgilio
authors: V
authors: Mattoli
authors: Center for Micro-BioRobotics @SSSA, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, Pontedera, Pisa 56025, Italy.
authors: Barbara
authors: B
authors: Mazzolai
authors: SENAN - Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear - CDTN/CNEN, Av. Presidente Antônio Carlos 6627 - Campus da UFMG, Belo Horizonte, MG CEP 30270-901, Brazil. Electronic address: sousaem@cdtn.br.
authors: Edesia M B
authors: EM
authors: de Sousa
authors: Center for Micro-BioRobotics @SSSA, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, Pontedera, Pisa 56025, Italy. Electronic address: gianni.ciofani@iit.it.
authors: Gianni
authors: G
authors: Ciofani
mesh_terms: D001896:Boron Compounds / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D043942:Nanotubes / Q000737:chemistry; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D001896:Boron Compounds; D004337:Drug Carriers; C017282:boron nitride; D005492:Folic Acid
keywords: Boron nitride nanotubes; Cancer therapy; Folic acid; HeLa cells; Nanovectors