title: Selenium-Containing Amphiphiles Reduced and Stabilized Gold Nanoparticles: Kill Cancer Cells via Reactive Oxygen Species.
abstract: Selenium has attracted increasing interest in recent decades because of the function of regulating the redox balance in the human body. However, biomedical studies of selenium are still limited. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), typically prepared by a first reduction step followed by a second stabilization step, are widely applied in biomedical studies. However, their own anticancer activity is less studied. Here, we report 2 nm AuNPs with significant anticancer activity (IC50 = 20 μM) that is stabilized by a selenium-containing amphiphile EGSe-tMe. The AuNPs are prepared by simply mixing chloroauric acid (HAuCl4) with EGSe-tMe, which acts as both a reducing agent and a stabilizer. In contrast to AuNPs prepared by EGSe-tMe, EGSe-tMe alone and typically prepared AuNPs show little anticancer activity even at concentrations up to 250 μM. Mechanistic studies suggest that selenium in cooperation with AuNPs can induce high concentrations of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cancer cells, leading to cellular apoptosis.
authors: Key Lab of Organic Optoelectronics & Molecular Engineering, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University , Beijing, 100084, People's Republic of China.
authors: Tianyu
authors: T
authors: Li
authors: Key Lab of Organic Optoelectronics & Molecular Engineering, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University , Beijing, 100084, People's Republic of China.
authors: Feng
authors: F
authors: Li
authors: Key Lab of Organic Optoelectronics & Molecular Engineering, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University , Beijing, 100084, People's Republic of China.
authors: Wentian
authors: W
authors: Xiang
authors: Key Lab of Organic Optoelectronics & Molecular Engineering, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University , Beijing, 100084, People's Republic of China.
authors: Yu
authors: Y
authors: Yi
authors: Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials Laboratory (FUNSOM), Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Soochow University , Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, People's Republic of China.
authors: Yuyan
authors: Y
authors: Chen
authors: Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials Laboratory (FUNSOM), Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Soochow University , Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, People's Republic of China.
authors: Liang
authors: L
authors: Cheng
authors: Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials Laboratory (FUNSOM), Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Soochow University , Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, People's Republic of China.
authors: Zhuang
authors: Z
authors: Liu
authors: Key Lab of Organic Optoelectronics & Molecular Engineering, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University , Beijing, 100084, People's Republic of China.
authors: Huaping
authors: H
authors: Xu
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis; D006046:Gold; D006801:Humans; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles; D009369:Neoplasms; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D012643:Selenium
chemical_list: D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D006046:Gold; D012643:Selenium
keywords: anticancer; gold nanoparticle; reactive oxygen species; selenium; self-assembly