Cold plasma triggered cell death with a curcumin and capecitabine loaded magnetic nanocluster-based multifunctional system on the MCF-7 cell line: a smart therapy platformShow others and affiliations
2026 (English)In: Journal of materials chemistry. B, ISSN 2050-750X, E-ISSN 2050-7518, Vol. 14, no 4, p. 1224-1241Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
The development of smart, selective, and multifunctional nanotherapeutics is crucial for advancing next-generation cancer treatments. In this study, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoclusters (SPIONCs) were coated with mesoporous silica, functionalized with folic acid (FA), and co-loaded with curcumin (CUR) and capecitabine (CAPE) to create a novel nanocarrier system. To enhance cellular internalisation, magnetophoresis was applied before exposure of the cells to cold atmospheric plasma (CAP). The resulting FA-conjugated, CUR and CAPE-loaded nanoclusters were evaluated in vitro in MCF-7 breast cancer and HME-1 normal epithelial cells at varying CAP exposure durations (0, 10, and 20 s) and incubation times (24 and 48 h). This is the first report demonstrating the co-loading of CUR and CAPE into FA-functionalised mesoporous silica-coated magnetic nanoclusters. Drug release studies revealed significantly enhanced release profiles under acidic conditions (pH 5.0 and 6.5), mimicking lysosomal and tumour microenvironments, compared to physiological pH (7.4). Drug-loaded nanoclusters exhibited substantially higher cytotoxicity than the controls with no loading, with a more pronounced effect in MCF-7 cells. Notably, the combined treatment of CAP and CUR-CAPE loaded NCs showed a synergistic cytotoxic effect. IC50 values, after 10 s CAP exposure and 24 h incubation, decreased to 0.43 mu g mL-1 for MCF-7 cells and 37 mu g mL-1 for HME-1 cells. The elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) induced by CAP played a key role in the observed cytotoxic effects, and both CUR and CAPE were found to enhance this process through ROS-related and potentially additional molecular pathways. These findings highlight the potential of CAP-assisted multicomponent nanocarriers as a promising platform for effective cancer therapy.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) , 2026. Vol. 14, no 4, p. 1224-1241
National Category
Clinical Medicine
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-377191DOI: 10.1039/d5tb01738fISI: 001642532400001PubMedID: 41416790Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105025137821OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-377191DiVA, id: diva2:2042210
Note
QC 20260227
2026-02-272026-02-272026-02-27Bibliographically approved