Modulated plasmonic nanofibrous scaffold reinforced breast cancer photo-ablation and breast neurotization with resensation

Abstract

Herein, we report the bioactivity of the hybrid plasmonic aligned nanofibrous scaffolds composed of reduced graphene oxide (rGO, 209 nm) nanosheets enfolded gold nanorods (AuNR) with polycaprolactone (PCL) for breast cancer photo-therapy and subsequent nerve regeneration. The strategic inclusion of 0.00068 wt% (OD = 4.0) of monodispersed AuNR-rGO in PCL (AuNR-rGO@PCL (4.0)) leads to significant higher physicochemical and optical properties such as higher mechanical strength (7-fold increase), electrical conductivity (∼6-times enhancement), larger surface area (6.4 times), and more NIR light absorbance. Hence, the AuNR-rGO@PCL (4.0) was found to be an excellent photo agent for breast tumor ablation with more than 90% cancer cell (MCF-7) death under 808 nm NIR irradiation at low laser power density (0.72 W/cm2). Also, the nanofibrous scaffold was observed to have a substantial effect on adhesion, proliferation, growth, and differentiation of PC12 and high affinity to S42 cell proliferation and migration which led to an exceptional nerve growth with a 2.5-fold (with NIR light after 3 days) and 2-fold (without NIR light after 7 days) increase in neurite length in comparison to PCL. The present study provides a new bioactive, biocompatible, non-toxic, and bifunctional aligned plasmonic scaffolds as an excellent single platform for breast cancer treatment and potential bioimplant to regain sensation loss after breast surgery and reconstruction.