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Enhancement of phototoxicity of curcumin in human oral cancer cells using silica nanoparticles as delivery vehicle

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Abstract

We report results on the use of organically modified silica nanoparticles (SiNp) as a vehicle for the delivery of curcumin in human oral cancer cells for improvement of uptake and phototoxicity. Nanoformulated drug (curcumin–SiNp complex) was prepared by postloading curcumin in SiNp, and the complex was soluble in aqueous solution. Cellular uptake studied by fluorescence microscopy and spectroscopy showed that curcumin accumulation was higher when cells were incubated with curcumin–SiNp complex as against free curcumin. Studies carried out on incubation time-dependent cytotoxicity, inhibition of NF-κB activity, suppression of NF-κB-regulated proteins involved in invasion (MMP-9), angiogenesis (VEGF), and inflammation (TNF-α) showed that curcumin–SiNp leads to significant improvement over free curcumin in dark as well as on exposure to light.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. K. Das of the Laser Biomedical Applications and Instrumentation Division, RRCAT, Indore, India for helping in the preparation and characterization of silica nanoparticles.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laser Biomedical Applications and Instrumentation Division, Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology, Indore, 452013, Madhya Pradesh, India

    Surya Prakash Singh, Mrinalini Sharma & Pradeep Kumar Gupta

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  1. Surya Prakash Singh
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  2. Mrinalini Sharma
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  3. Pradeep Kumar Gupta
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Correspondence to Mrinalini Sharma.

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Singh, S.P., Sharma, M. & Gupta, P.K. Enhancement of phototoxicity of curcumin in human oral cancer cells using silica nanoparticles as delivery vehicle. Lasers Med Sci 29, 645–652 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-013-1357-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-013-1357-7

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