Composite Nanoarchitectonics of Photoactivated Titania-Based Materials with Anticancer Properties
Nefeli Papadopoulou-Fermeli,
Nefeli Lagopati,
Natassa Pippa,
Elias Sakellis,
Nikos Boukos,
Vassilis G. Gorgoulis,
Maria Gazouli,
Evangelia A. Pavlatou
Affiliations
Nefeli Papadopoulou-Fermeli
Laboratory of General Chemistry, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Zografou Campus, 15789 Zografou, Greece
Nefeli Lagopati
Laboratory of General Chemistry, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Zografou Campus, 15789 Zografou, Greece
Natassa Pippa
Section of Pharmaceutical Technology, Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15771 Athens, Greece
Elias Sakellis
Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, National Center for Scientific Research “Demokritos”, 15310 Agia Paraskevi, Greece
Nikos Boukos
Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, National Center for Scientific Research “Demokritos”, 15310 Agia Paraskevi, Greece
Vassilis G. Gorgoulis
Laboratory of Histology-Embryology, Molecular Carcinogenesis Group, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
Maria Gazouli
Laboratory of Biology, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
Evangelia A. Pavlatou
Laboratory of General Chemistry, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Zografou Campus, 15789 Zografou, Greece
The synthesis of titania-based composite materials with anticancer potential under visible-light irradiation is the aim of this study. In specific, titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) chemically modified with silver were embedded in a stimuli-responsive microgel (a crosslinked interpenetrating network (IP) network that was synthesized by poly (N-Isopropylacrylamide) and linear chains of polyacrylic acid sodium salt, forming composite particles. The ultimate goal of this research, and for our future plans, is to develop a drug-delivery system that uses optical fibers that could efficiently photoactivate NPs, targeting cancer cells. The produced Ag-TiO2 NPs, the microgel and the composite materials were characterized through X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), micro-Raman spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Our results indicated that Ag-TiO2 NPs were successfully embedded within the thermoresponsive microgel. Either Ag-TiO2 NPs or the composite materials exhibited high photocatalytic degradation efficiency on the pollutant rhodamine B and significant anticancer potential under visible-light irradiation.
