A Quantum Chemical, Biological, and Experimental Analysis of Newly Synthesized Schiff-based PEI CA/N-GQDs Nanomaterials: Evaluation of Anticancer Potential in Human Neuroblastoma Cell

Abstract

In this study, we synthesized a new material, Schiff base PEI-CA/N-GQDs, from the reaction of 4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-cinnamaldehyde (CA) with polyethyleneimine-functionalized N-doped graphene quantum dots (PEI N-GQDs). The synthesized material was experimentally characterized by FT-IR, UV-Vis, SEM, EDX, AFM, XRD, and TGA, as well as theoretically by DFT method. In addition to their biological activities, their cytotoxic, apoptotic and cell cycle arresting effects were investigated in human epithelial neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y) cells. According to the UV-Vis data, we observed that the material exhibits phenol-imine/keto-amine tautomerism, a phenomenon common in 2-hydroxy Schiff bases that help to explain the various properties of material. Furthermore, this material predominantly exists in the keto-amine form. The material demonstrated favorable electron transfer properties, making it suitable for electrochemical applications. We showed that it binds to DNA through an electrostatic interaction and causes oxidative and hydrolytic cleavage in DNA, which results in an increase in ROS in the cell, an activation of the CASPASE-3, leading the cells undergo apoptosis, and inhibiting cell division in the G1/S phase. We believe that the chemical properties of the Schiff-based PEI N-GQDs make them a superior carrier molecule for cancer treatment. Furthermore the anticancer properties of the Schiff-based PEI-CA/N-GQDs suggest their potential as a therapeutic agent for neuroblastoma.