Development of near-infrared region luminescent N-acetyl-L-cysteine-coated Ag

• Published in: Nanomedicine (London, England) Vol. 14; no. 8; pp. 969 - 987
• Main Authors: Buz, Pelin Turhan, Duman, Fatma Demir, Erkisa, Merve, Demirci, Gozde, Ari, Ferda, Ulukaya, Engin, Acar, Havva Yagci
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Future Medicine Ltd 01-04-2019; 01-03-2019
• Subjects: apoptosis; DNA damage; imaging; N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC); reactive oxygen species (ROS); S quantum dots
• ISSN: 1743-5889; 1748-6963
• DOI: 10.2217/nnm-2018-0214

N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) is a free radical scavenger. We developed NAC-coated Ag
S (NAC-Ag
S) quantum dot (QD) as an optical imaging and therapeutic agent.
QDs were synthesized in water. Their optical imaging potential and toxicity were studied
.
NAC-Ag
S QDs have strong emission, that is tunable between 748 and 840 nm, and are stable in biologically relevant media. QDs showed significant differences both in cell internalization and toxicity
. QDs were quite toxic to breast and cervical cancer cells but not to lung derived cells despite the higher uptake. NAC-Ag
S reduces reactive oxygen species (ROS) but causes cell death via DNA damage and apoptosis.
NAC-Ag
S QDs are stable and strong signal-generating theranostic agents offering selective therapeutic effects.