Uptake of silver nanoparticles by DHA-treated cancer cells examined by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy in a microfluidic chip

Abstract

This paper reports on the synthesis and application of biocompatible and sensitive SERS nanoparticles for the study of uptake of nanoparticles into living cells in a microfluidic chip through surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The nanoparticles were fabricated as beta-cyclodextrin-coated silver nanoparticles (Ag@CD NPs) modified with para-aminothiophenol (p-ATP) and folic acid (FA) on the surface. The p-ATP molecules act as the Raman reporter while the FA tags have high affinity for folate receptors (FR) that are over-expressed on the surface cancerous cells, so that the nanoparticles can enter the cells and be monitored by the Raman reporter. Therefore, the nanoparticles could be utilized not only as cell invaders due to endocytosis but also as a SERS sensitive probe to monitor the effect of FR-targeted drugs such as dihydroartemisinin (DHA) that induce the population change of FR on the membrane of living cells. As a result, we have successfully demonstrated that we are able to employ the Ag@CD@p-ATP@FA NPs to evaluate the number of NPs entering living cells quantitatively and correspondingly the drug effect on cancer cells in a well-controlled way.

3D Microfluidic Surface‐Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) Chips Fabricated by All‐Femtosecond‐Laser‐Processing for Real‐Time Sensing of Toxic Substances

“…In addition, the AEFs for the other main peaks were calculated and listed in Table S3 in the Supporting Information, which showed that all AEFs were higher than 10 8 . It should be noted that this value is among the highest ever obtained, since reported values typically range from 10 6 to 10 8 (Table S4, Supporting Information) …”

“…Integrating this Ag‐ZnO nanostructure into a microfluidic system permitted the analysis of glucose solutions with various concentrations . In addition, other materials, such as Ag@ZnO, beta‐cyclodextrin‐coated Ag nanoparticles, and certain semiconductor nanoparticles, have been successfully integrated into microfluidic chips, and these novel materials have exhibited outstanding SERS sensing performance.…”

Dihydroartemisinin and its anticancer activity against endometrial carcinoma and cervical cancer: involvement of apoptosis, autophagy and transferrin receptor

“…TfR might be upregulated in order to mediate endocytosis of transferrin loaded with increased concentrations of iron. (17,18) We found that DHA decreased TfR mRNA expression and this knockdown of TfR further enhanced the cytotoxic activity of DHA. Most cancer cells have greater numbers of iron-attracting TfR on their cell surface when compared to normal cells.…”

“…Increased autophagic activity results in rapid degradation of p62, whereas a lack of autophagy leads to accumulation of p62. (17) In the present study, we explored the impact of DHA treatment on cell proliferation, apoptosis and autophagy in endometrial and cervical cancer cells. Our results would provide further evidence supporting DHA as a possible anticancer drug for the treatment of endometrial carcinoma and cervical cancer.…”

Single File Flow of Biomimetic Beads for Continuous SERS Recording in a Microfluidic Device

“…Examples of microfluidic devices coupled with Raman spectroscopy have been successfully used for sample preconcentration or storing cells during the spectroscopic analysis [22][23][24].…”