Preparation, Characterization and Phototoxicity of Photosan-Loaded Hollow Silica Nanospheres for Photodynamic Therapy

Abstract

In this study, Photosan (PS) was loaded onto hollow silica nanospheres using one-step wet chemical-based synthetic route method. Polydispersive index of the Photosan-loaded hollow Silica Nanospheres (PS-loaded NSs) is 0.121±0.01. The photobiological activity of the PS-loaded NSs was evaluated on human cholangiocarcinoma QBC939 cells. Cells were incubated with free PS or PS-loaded NSs for 2 h and then washed with phosphate-buffered saline. Culture medium was added to the wells containing the cells. Finally, the cells were exposed to red light (630 nm) with a light dose of 10J/cm2. The cellular viability was determined after 24 h of incubation. PS-loaded NSs and free PS eliminated about 96.4%±2.0% and 54.7%±1.9% of QBC939 cells, respectively. The phototoxicity was time dependent up to 2 h and concentration dependent at 1-7.5 mg/l. The cells viability decreased with the increase of the light dose in the range of 5-15 J/cm2. In conclusion, PS-loaded NSs are the release systems that promise photodynamic therapy use.