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Enhancing Photothermal Therapy Against Breast Cancer Cells by Modulating the End Point of Gold Shell-Isolated Nanoparticles Using Nanostraw-Assisted Injection

Camacho, Sabrina A. ; Aoki, Pedro H.B. ; Ekstrand, Frida LU ; Oliveira, Osvaldo N. and Prinz, Christelle N. LU (2025) In ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces 17(19). p.27816-27828
Abstract

Gold shell-isolated nanoparticles (AuSHINs) are promising photothermal therapy (PTT) agents for cancer treatment due to their excellent photoconversion efficiency, biocompatibility, colloidal stability, and tunable properties, including size, shape, and surface functionalization. However, their therapeutic efficacy in in vitro assays is often limited by poor cellular uptake and lysosomal entrapment, which can result in nanoparticle degradation and a reduction in PTT effectiveness. In this study, we demonstrate that nanostraw-assisted injection enhances the PTT efficacy of AuSHINs compared to the conventional incubation method, as evaluated in human breast cancer cell lines: adenocarcinoma cells (MDA-MB-231) and glandular carcinoma cells... (More)

Gold shell-isolated nanoparticles (AuSHINs) are promising photothermal therapy (PTT) agents for cancer treatment due to their excellent photoconversion efficiency, biocompatibility, colloidal stability, and tunable properties, including size, shape, and surface functionalization. However, their therapeutic efficacy in in vitro assays is often limited by poor cellular uptake and lysosomal entrapment, which can result in nanoparticle degradation and a reduction in PTT effectiveness. In this study, we demonstrate that nanostraw-assisted injection enhances the PTT efficacy of AuSHINs compared to the conventional incubation method, as evaluated in human breast cancer cell lines: adenocarcinoma cells (MDA-MB-231) and glandular carcinoma cells (MCF7). This enhancement is attributed to three differences between the delivery methods: nanoparticle internalization, intracellular targeting, and the progression of cell death pathways. Nanostraw injection resulted in approximately 10-fold higher internalization of AuSHINs compared to 0.5-h incubation. Confocal fluorescence microscopy revealed that AuSHINs delivered via conventional incubation predominantly localize within lysosomes, whereas those introduced through nanostraw-assisted injection primarily targeted the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), thus avoiding lysosomal degradation. This differential targeting led to approximately a 2-fold higher reduction in the viability of photoactivated breast cancer cells treated with nanostraw-delivered AuSHINs. Furthermore, nanostraw-assisted injection accelerated the initiation of apoptosis relative to incubation. PTT-induced cell death was more pronounced in MCF7 cells compared to MDA-MB-231 cells, reflecting the higher resistance to therapy of the latter. These findings highlight the potential of nanostraw-assisted injection to enhance PTT, and we now face the challenge of integrating it into in vivo delivery strategies.

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author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
breast cancer cells, gold shell-isolated nanoparticles, incubation, nanostraw-assisted injection, photothermal therapy
in
ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
volume
17
issue
19
pages
13 pages
publisher
The American Chemical Society (ACS)
external identifiers
  • pmid:40299396
  • scopus:105004049293
ISSN
1944-8244
DOI
10.1021/acsami.5c00084
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.
id
8ba3d459-8c72-44a5-8fe4-afd2e8a7e10a
date added to LUP
2025-08-05 13:52:42
date last changed
2025-08-06 03:00:08
@article{8ba3d459-8c72-44a5-8fe4-afd2e8a7e10a,
  abstract     = {{<p>Gold shell-isolated nanoparticles (AuSHINs) are promising photothermal therapy (PTT) agents for cancer treatment due to their excellent photoconversion efficiency, biocompatibility, colloidal stability, and tunable properties, including size, shape, and surface functionalization. However, their therapeutic efficacy in in vitro assays is often limited by poor cellular uptake and lysosomal entrapment, which can result in nanoparticle degradation and a reduction in PTT effectiveness. In this study, we demonstrate that nanostraw-assisted injection enhances the PTT efficacy of AuSHINs compared to the conventional incubation method, as evaluated in human breast cancer cell lines: adenocarcinoma cells (MDA-MB-231) and glandular carcinoma cells (MCF7). This enhancement is attributed to three differences between the delivery methods: nanoparticle internalization, intracellular targeting, and the progression of cell death pathways. Nanostraw injection resulted in approximately 10-fold higher internalization of AuSHINs compared to 0.5-h incubation. Confocal fluorescence microscopy revealed that AuSHINs delivered via conventional incubation predominantly localize within lysosomes, whereas those introduced through nanostraw-assisted injection primarily targeted the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), thus avoiding lysosomal degradation. This differential targeting led to approximately a 2-fold higher reduction in the viability of photoactivated breast cancer cells treated with nanostraw-delivered AuSHINs. Furthermore, nanostraw-assisted injection accelerated the initiation of apoptosis relative to incubation. PTT-induced cell death was more pronounced in MCF7 cells compared to MDA-MB-231 cells, reflecting the higher resistance to therapy of the latter. These findings highlight the potential of nanostraw-assisted injection to enhance PTT, and we now face the challenge of integrating it into in vivo delivery strategies.</p>}},
  author       = {{Camacho, Sabrina A. and Aoki, Pedro H.B. and Ekstrand, Frida and Oliveira, Osvaldo N. and Prinz, Christelle N.}},
  issn         = {{1944-8244}},
  keywords     = {{breast cancer cells; gold shell-isolated nanoparticles; incubation; nanostraw-assisted injection; photothermal therapy}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{05}},
  number       = {{19}},
  pages        = {{27816--27828}},
  publisher    = {{The American Chemical Society (ACS)}},
  series       = {{ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces}},
  title        = {{Enhancing Photothermal Therapy Against Breast Cancer Cells by Modulating the End Point of Gold Shell-Isolated Nanoparticles Using Nanostraw-Assisted Injection}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsami.5c00084}},
  doi          = {{10.1021/acsami.5c00084}},
  volume       = {{17}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}