Searching for
photodynamic therapy-effective nanocarriers which enable a
photosensitizer to be selectively delivered to
tumor cells with enhanced bioavailability and diminished dark cytotoxicity is of current interest. We have employed a
polymer-based nanoparticle approach to encapsulate the cyanine-type
photosensitizer IR-780 in poly(
n-butyl cyanoacrylate) (PBCA)
nanocapsules. The latter were fabricated by interfacial polymerization in oil-in-water (o/w) microemulsions formed by dicephalic and gemini saccharide-derived
surfactants. Nanocarriers were characterized by SEM, AFM and DLS. The efficiency of PBCA
nanocapsules as a potential system of
photosensitizer delivery to human
breast cancer cells was established by dark and photocytotoxicity as the function of the cellular mitochondria. The photodynamic effect of cyanine
IR-780 was determined by investigation of oxidative stress markers. The
nanocapsules were the main focus of our studies to examine their cellular uptake and dark and photocytotoxicity as the function of the cellular mitochondria as well as oxidative stress markers (i.e., lipid peroxidation and
protein damage) in MCF-7/WT
cancer cells. The effects of encapsulated
IR-780 were compared with those of native
photosensitizer. The penetration of the
nanocapsules into
cancer cells was visualized by CLSM and their uptake was estimated by FACS analysis. Cyanine
IR-780 delivered in PBCA
nanocapsules to MCF-7/WT cells retains its sensitivity upon photoirradiation and it is regularly distributed in the cell cytoplasm. The intensity of the
photosensitizer-generated oxidative stress depends on
IR-780 release from the effective uptake of polymeric
nanocapsules and seems to remain dependent upon the
surfactant structure in o/w microemulsion-based templates applied to
nanocapsule fabrication.