Breast Cancer Therapy: Harnessing Biocompatible Zinc-manganese Nano-platform for Dual-targeted Photodynamic Therapy

Abstract

In this project, five different nanoparticles based on different ratios of iron, zinc, and manganese were synthesized to form Zn_x Mn_1-X Fe₂O₄. Then, one of them was selected and polyethylene glycol was conjugated to its surface using tartaric acid to improve its biocompatibility. Also, to improve the target ability of the prepared polyethylene glycol conjugated Zn_x Mn_1-X Fe₂O₄ as a nano-platform, folic acid was used as a targeting agent. The nano-platform was characterized using different techniques such as X-ray diffractometey, vibrating-sample magnetometer, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, field emission-scanning electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. In vivo and in vitro tests including hemolysis, blood aggregation and lethal dose showed that Zn_0.5Mn_0.5 Fe₂O₄ were the most suitable photosensitizers among all. Also, in vivo and in vitro biocompatibility analysis revealed that incorporation of polyethylene glycol can significantly improve the biocompatibility of the nano-platforms. The cytotoxicity results revealed that cell viability of cancerous cells was lower when the nano-platform was coated with folic acid and poly ethylene glycol under irradiation of visible light while whiteout shining the light, the cell viability was almost 100% for polyethylene coated nano-platform. These results can prove the great potential of folic acid to improve the photodynamic therapy performance of Zn_0.5Mn_0.5 Fe₂O₄.