In this paper, a novel electrochemiluminescence (ECL) sensor of sol-gel@graphene luminescent composite film modified electrode for hyperin determination was prepared using graphene (G) as solid-phase microextraction (SPME) material, based on selective preconcentration of target onto an electrode and followed by luminol ECL detection. Hyperin was firstly extracted from aqueous solution through the modified GCE. Hydrogel, electrogenerated chemiluminescence reagents, pH of working solution, extraction time and temperature and scan rate were discussed. Under the optimum conditions, the change of ECL intensity was in proportion to the concentration of hyperin in the range of 0.02–0.24 μg/mL with a detection limit of 0.01 μg/mL. This method showed good performance in stability, reproducibility and precision for the determination of hyperin.
Yang Wang,Yu Zhang,Ming Jin,Yinghua Lv,Zhichao Pei,Yuxin Pei
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) as a non-aggressive therapy with fewer side effects has unique advantages over traditional treatments. However, PDT still has certain limitations in clinical applications, mainly because most photosensitizers utilized in PDT are hydrophobic compounds, which will self-aggregate in the aqueous phase and cause undesirable effects. In order to resolve this, we utilized the self-polymerization of dopamine molecules under alkaline conditions to coat cerium oxide nanorods (CeONR) with a dense polydopamine (PDA) film. Thereafter, thiolated galactose (Gal-SH) and hypericin (Hyp) were modified and loaded onto the surface to construct[email protected]/Hyp, respectively, which can be used for targeted photodynamic therapy of human hepatoma HepG2 cells.[email protected]/Hyp was characterized by transmission electron microscope (TEM), Zeta potential, Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis), and fluorescence spectroscopy, respectively. This hypericin delivery system possesses good biocompatibility and specific targeting ability, where the galactose units on the surface of[email protected]/Hyp can specifically recognize the asialo-glycoprotein receptors (ASGP-R), which overexpress on HepG2 cell membrane. Furthermore, Hyp will detach from the surface of[email protected]/Hyp after the nanorods enter cancer cells, and shows excellent PDT effect under the irradiation of light with a wavelength of 590 nm. Our work exemplifies a novel targeted delivery of hydrophobic photosensitizers for cancer treatment.Keywords:cerium oxide nanorods;hypericin;targeted delivery;photodynamic therapy;polydopamine
Chao Han,Can Zhang,Ting Ma,Chao Zhang,Jianguang Luo,Xiao Xu,Huijun Zhao,Yan Chen,Lingyi Kong
Effective targeting of mitochondria has emerged as a beneficial strategy in cancer therapy. However, the development of mitochondria-targeting ligands is difficult because of the low permeability of the mitochondrial double membrane. We found that hypericin (HY), a natural product isolated from Hypericum perforatum L., is an effective mitochondria-targeting ligand. HY-functionalized graphene oxide (GO) loaded with doxorubicin (GO-PEG-SS-HY/DOX) increased the synergistic anticancer efficacy of phototherapy and chemotherapy in the absence of apparent adverse side effects. In vitro and in vivo assays suggested GO-PEG-SS-HY/DOX induced the expression of the key proteins of the mitochondria-mediated apoptosis pathway and caused apoptosis of breast carcinoma cells. In addition, GO vehicle exhibited low toxicity toward normal cells, indicating high safety of functionalized GO preparations in antitumor therapy. Therefore, HY-functionalized GO can be successfully used as a platform technology to target mitochondria in cancer cells and improve the therapeutic efficacy of chemotherapeutic drugs. Statement of Significance Induction of mitochondria-mediated apoptosis is a promising approach in cancer therapy. However, mitochondria are difficult to access and permeate because of their negative membrane potential and highly dense double membrane. Mitochondria-targeting ligands can be conjugated to nanoparticles or small-molecule drugs to enhance their antitumor effect. Here, we showed that the natural photosensitizer hypericin is a novel mitochondria-targeting ligand and that graphene oxide particles co-loaded with hypericin and the chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin exhibited a synergistic antitumor effect mediated by the mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis. Treatment with such particles in combination with laser irradiation led to apoptosis of the tumor MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells in vitro and in vivo . Furthermore, treatment with hypericin/doxorubicin-functionalized graphene oxide had low cellular toxicity.