Curcumin-Conjugated Gold Clusters for Bioimaging and Anticancer Applications

• Published in: Bioconjugate chemistry Vol. 29; no. 2; pp. 363 - 370
• Main Authors: Govindaraju, Saravanan, Rengaraj, Arunkumar, Arivazhagan, Roshini, Huh, Yun-Suk, Yun, Kyusik
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 21-02-2018
• Subjects: Animals; Anticancer properties; Antineoplastic Agents - chemistry; Antineoplastic Agents - pharmacology; Atomic force microscopy; Bending; Cancer; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Movement - drug effects; Cell Survival - drug effects; Cercopithecus aethiops; Cervical cancer; Cervix; Clusters; Conjugation; COS Cells; Curcumin; Curcumin - chemistry; Curcumin - pharmacology; Electron microscopy; Fluorescence; Fluorescence spectroscopy; Fluorescent Dyes - chemistry; Fluorescent Dyes - pharmacology; Fourier transforms; Gold; Gold - chemistry; Gold - pharmacology; HeLa Cells; Humans; Infrared analysis; Infrared spectroscopy; Irradiation; Medical imaging; Metal Nanoparticles - chemistry; Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging; Neoplasms - drug therapy; Optical Imaging - methods; Spectrometry, Fluorescence; Spectroscopic analysis; Spectroscopy; Toxicity; Transmission electron microscopy
• ISSN: 1043-1802; 1520-4812
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.7b00683

Curcumin-conjugated gold clusters (CUR-AuNCs) were synthesized using a “green” procedure and utilized as an anticancer and a bioimaging agent. Curcumin is a well-known anticancer agent, which forms a cluster when reacting with a gold precursor under mild alkali condition. A fluorescence spectroscopy analysis showed that the CUR-AuNCs emitted red fluorescence (650 nm) upon visible light (550) irradiation. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis confirmed the stretching and bending nature between the gold atoms and curcumin. Meanwhile, transmission electron microscopy analysis showed a cluster of approximately 1–3 nm with a uniform size. Time-resolved fluorescence analysis demonstrated that the red fluorescence was highly stable. Moreover, laser confocal imaging and atomic force microscopy analysis illustrated that a cluster was well distributed in the cell. This cluster exhibited less toxicity in the mortal cell line (COS-7) and high toxicity in the cervical cancer cell line (HeLa). The results demonstrated the conjugation of curcumin into the fluorescent gold cluster as a potential material for anticancer therapy and bioimaging applications.