Design and Synthesis of Dual-Responsive Carbon Nanodots Loaded with Cisplatin for Targeted Therapy of Lung Cancer Therapy and Nursing Care

Abstract

The use of chemotherapeutic drugs in cancer therapy is often limited by problems with administration such as insolubility, inefficient biodistribution, lack of selectivity, and inability of the drug to cross cellular barriers. To overcome these limitations, various types of drug delivery systems have been explored, and recently, carbon dots (CDs) materials have also garnered attention in the field of drug delivery. In this study, we describe the preparation, characterization, and in vitro testing of the PEGlyated carbon dots (CDs) loaded with cisplatin (CDDP) termed as (CDs@CDDP). Further, the CDs@CDDP decorated with PEGylated iRGD peptide (named as CDs@CDDP-iRGD. The electroscopic and spectroscopic methods are verified by the CDs@CDDP-iRGD. Two lung cancers (A549 and HEL-299) and a non-cancerous cell line (HUVEC) were examined for the cytotoxicity of nanoparticles in vitro. The nanoparticles effectively destroy cancer cells without damaging the non-cancerous cell lines. Also, the dual AO-EB fluorescent staining assay identified programmed cell death by morphological changes in the cells. The findings of our investigations also attest to promising reach and potency treatment and nursing care management of CDs@CDDP-iRGD nanoparticles for specific cancer therapy beyond platinum medicines. We have efficiently engineered the PEGlyated carbon dots loaded with cisplatin decorated with PEGylated iRGD peptide. The nanoparticles were confirmed by the various spectral methods (IR, UV, DLS and HR-TEM techiniques). Further, we screened the CDDP, CDs@CDDP and CDs@CDDP-iRGD, for human lung cancer cells. Additionally, CDDP, CDs@CDDP and CDs@CDDP-iRGD NPs effectively induce apoptosis in human lung cancer cells and the morphological changes were monitored through the AO-EB staining, and nuclear (Hoechst 33452) staining methods.