Biomedical applications of single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) have the potential to expand treatment options for cancer patients. Carbon nanotubes have a high surface area to volume ratio, which allows for surface functionalization. The size of these nanotubes facilitates use as a drug delivery system as well. Recent studies have shown that unfunctionalized nanotubes enter cells via endocytosis. In addition, the nanotubes may enter cells through cellular gap junctions and ion channels. In previous studies we have shown that nanotubes are not cytotoxic in low concentrations. Currently we are testing the hypothesis that unfunctionalized single walled carbon nanotubes incorporate into the actin cytoskeleton and decrease migration of triple negative breast cancer cells. However, our studies have been limited by aggregation of the nanotubes in aqueous solutions, which decreases cellular uptake and increases cytotoxicity in <i>in vitro</i> studies. Coating single walled carbon nanotubes with collagen has been shown to facilitate cellular uptake, thus allowing for intracellular associations to be investigated. This method has limitations due to the acidic pH of the collagen solution. In this study, we compare the effect of collagen coated single walled carbon nanotubes with debundled single walled carbon nanotubes on breast cancer cell migration. Migration assays were performed and revealed that breast cancer cells treated with collagen coated SWCNT as well as the debundled SWCNT has a reduced rate of migration. These results suggest that the SWCNT may be incorporating into the actin cytoskeletal disrupting rearrangements that are required for the metastatic process. In future studies we plan to measure Young’s modulus which is an indicator of the degree of flexibility which in turn can be correlated with changes in the actin cytoskeleton. The study will be expanded to include other types of cancer cells as well noncancerous cells and may reveal potentially novel cancer treatments.

Effect of single walled carbon nanotubes on breast cancer cell migration

256th National Meeting (2018)

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