One-pot synthesis of carbon dots with intrinsic folic acid for synergistic imaging-guided photothermal therapy of prostate cancer cells

• Published in: Biomaterials science Vol. 7; no. 12; pp. 5187 - 5196
• Main Authors: Phan, Le Minh Tu, Gul, Anam Rana, Le, Thi Ngoc, Kim, Min Woo, Kailasa, Suresh Kumar, Oh, Kyung Taek, Park, Tae Jung
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Royal Society of Chemistry 01.12.2019
• Subjects: Antigens; Antigens, Surface - metabolism; Biocompatibility; Carbon - chemistry; Carbon dots; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Proliferation - drug effects; Cell Survival - drug effects; Fluorescence; Folic acid; Folic Acid - chemistry; Folic Acid - pharmacology; Glutamate Carboxypeptidase II - metabolism; Humans; Hyperthermia, Induced - methods; Indoles - chemistry; Male; Microscopy, Fluorescence; Nanoparticles; Phototherapy - methods; Polymers - chemistry; Prostate cancer; Prostatic Neoplasms - metabolism; Prostatic Neoplasms - therapy; Therapy; Toxicity
• ISSN: 2047-4830; 2047-4849
• DOI: 10.1039/c9bm01228a

Photothermal therapy (PTT) is performed using near-infrared-responsive agents, which is proven to be an effective therapeutic strategy against cancer with several advantages including minimal invasion, high effectiveness, and easy implementation. Herein, we report a facile and novel one-pot synthetic approach for the fabrication of polydopamine-folate carbon dots (PFCDs) as theranostic nanocarriers for the image-guided PTT targeting of prostate cancer (PCa) cells that express a prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) (folate hydrolase 1). The as-fabricated PFCDs exhibited several advantages such as easy preparation, high biocompatibility, low toxicity, good water-solubility, and excellent photothermal effect with robust blue fluorescence emission. The PSMA-directed imaging of PCa using PFCDs showed remarkable fluorescence enhancement in LNCap cells as compared to the case of other cells that did not express PSMA. PFCDs exhibited a photothermal effect in the PCa cells when irradiated with an 808 nm laser, which possibly resulted in the complete elimination of the tumor. Thus, these features make PFCDs a promising candidate for PTT. Moreover, PFCD-based PTT provides an effective biomedical platform for cancer therapy. Photothermal therapy (PTT) is performed using near-infrared-responsive agents, which is proven to be an effective therapeutic strategy against cancer with several advantages including minimal invasion, high effectiveness, and easy implementation.