Cytotoxic Induction and Photoacoustic Imaging of Breast Cancer Cells Using Astaxanthin-Reduced Gold Nanoparticles
by
Subramaniyan Bharathiraja 1, Panchanathan Manivasagan 1, Nhat Quang Bui 2, Yun-Ok Oh 1, In Gweon Lim 3,*, Suhyun Park 4,* and Junghwan Oh 1,2,*
Subramaniyan Bharathiraja 1, Panchanathan Manivasagan 1, Nhat Quang Bui 2, Yun-Ok Oh 1, In Gweon Lim 3,*, Suhyun Park 4,* and Junghwan Oh 1,2,*
1
Department of Biomedical Engineering and Marine-Integrated Bionics Research Center, Pukyong National University, Busan 608-737, Korea
2
Department of Biomedical Engineering and Center for Marine-Integrated Biotechnology (BK21 Plus), Pukyong National University, Busan 608-737, Korea
3
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Myong-Ji University, San 38-2, Nam-dong, Cheoin-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do 449-728, Korea
4
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Luigi Pasqua
Nanomaterials 2016, 6(4), 78; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano6040078
Received: 25 March 2016 / Revised: 11 April 2016 / Accepted: 14 April 2016 / Published: 20 April 2016
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanomaterials for Cancer Therapies)
Astaxanthin, a kind of photosynthetic pigment, was employed for gold nanoparticle formation. Nanoparticles were characterized using Ulteraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction, and the possible presence of astaxanthin functional groups were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The cytotoxic effect of synthesized nanoparticles was evaluated against MDA-MB-231 (human breast cancer cells) using a tetrazolium-based assay, and synthesized nanoparticles exhibited dose-dependent toxicity. The morphology upon cell death was differentiated through fluorescent microscopy using different stains that predicted apoptosis. The synthesized nanoparticles were applied in ultrasound-coupled photoacoustic imaging to obtain good images of treated cells. Astaxanthin-reduced gold nanoparticle has the potential to act as a promising agent in the field of photo-based diagnosis and therapy.
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MDPI and ACS Style
Bharathiraja, S.; Manivasagan, P.; Quang Bui, N.; Oh, Y.-O.; Lim, I.G.; Park, S.; Oh, J. Cytotoxic Induction and Photoacoustic Imaging of Breast Cancer Cells Using Astaxanthin-Reduced Gold Nanoparticles. Nanomaterials 2016, 6, 78.
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