Research on selective uptake of photosensitizer C3N4@RP by different cancer cells

Abstract

Photodynamic therapy (PDT), as a clinical treatment, can remove malignant cells upon laser irradiation by selective uptake of photosensitizer (PS). The relative contribution of these antitumor effects depends largely on the dose and uptake of PS. In this study, C3N4@RP was chosen as a candidate for selective uptake studies of different cancer cells. C3N4@RP has been proved to possess excellent properties, including absorption edges extending up to 700 nm, efficient cellular uptake, low cytotoxicity, and favorable intracellular fluorescence localization. Considering the optimal therapeutic effect, we first incubated different concentrations of PS with A549 cells and HeLa cells in vitro to observe the uptake efficiency at different times. At a concentration of 20 μg ml−1, the cellular uptake by A549 and HeLa showed a time-dependent accumulation. The increasing accumulation for cancer cells at the most effective cellular uptake for 24 h follows an order of HeLa > A549. These results suggest that different types of cancer cells have different uptake saturation times for the same PS. All of the presented results support the idea that a properly designed PS is suitable for specific cancer at a specific time to achieve the best therapeutic effect.