Synergistic Effects of CoHCF@MWCNTs@FA Nanocomposites Enhancing Photodynamic Therapy for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

TL;DR

A new nanocomposite was developed to improve photodynamic therapy for triple-negative breast cancer by efficiently killing cancer cells while sparing healthy ones.

Contribution

The novel ternary nanocomposite CoHCF@MWCNTs@FA demonstrates enhanced photodynamic therapy efficacy with selective tumor cell toxicity.

Findings

The nanocomposite showed 79% cell death in triple-negative breast cancer cells under red light irradiation.

The nanocomposite selectively reduced MCF-7 tumor cell viability below 44% while maintaining over 84% viability in healthy MCF-10A cells.

The ternary nanocomposite induced late apoptosis in tumor cells, confirming its phototoxicity.

Abstract

This study presents
the synthesis of a ternary nanocomposite containing
cobalt hexacyanoferrate, multiwalled carbon nanotubes, and folic acid
(CoHCF@MWCNTf@FA) for application in photodynamic therapy (PDT), a
minimally invasive approach for the treatment of triple-negative breast
cancer. The choice of components was based on their photosensitizing
properties and biocompatibility. The nanocomposites showed remarkable
stability in biological medium, maintaining their structure and preventing
cobalt leakage during incubation. Their efficient internalization
by tumor cells (60–70%), particularly for the ternary nanocomposite,
highlights the role of receptor-mediated uptake in enhancing the photodynamic
response. Cell viability assays in the triple-negative breast cancer
cell line (MDA-MB-231) showed that the carbon nanotube (MWCNTf) is
noncytotoxic (cell viability ≥ 70%) and the isolated material
CoHCF exhibited low cytotoxicity (cell viability ≥ 60%) at
the tested concentrations. In contrast, under red light-emitting diode
irradiation, the CoHCF@MWCNTf@FA nanocomposite induced 79% cell death
at concentrations of 0.8 and 1.0 mg mL–1, demonstrating
a significant photodynamic effect. Apoptosis data correlated with
the phototoxicity results, confirming that the ternary nanocomposite
showed the best performance in inducing cell death via late apoptosis
of tumor cells. The ternary nanocomposite also exhibited selective
phototoxicity, significantly reducing the viability of MCF-7 tumor
cells (below 44%) upon irradiation, while maintaining high viability
(>84%) in nontumorigenic MCF-10A cells. These results highlight
the
synergistic properties and potential of this nanocomposite as a promising
candidate for the treatment of breast cancer through PDT.

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