Plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs) have become a useful platform in the biomedical field due to their potential use in disease diagnosis and treatment. It has previously been reported that nuclear-targeting gold (AuNSs) and silver (AgNSs) nanospheres both induce DNA damage and an increased cytotoxicity in cancer cells; their perturbation of the cell cycle differs.  In the present work, we investigated the cellular death mechanism induced after human oral squamous cell carcinoma (HSC-3) cells were treated with nuclear-targeting AuNSs and AgNSs.  Through flow cytometry, confocal microscopy, and western blotting, we were able to analyze the effects of targeted NPs treatment at the intracellular level.  Results suggest that nuclear-targeted AgNSs caused greater apoptotic populations when compared to AuNSs due to the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Current studies investigating possible apoptotic pathways triggered after treatment with nuclear-targeted AuNSs and AgNSs are also discussed.

Nuclear-targeted gold and silver nanospheres: A fundamental study in cellular death mechanisms

245th National Meeting (2013)

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