Anti-tumor effect of different morphologies of Ag-based semiconductors against bladder tumor cells

• Grant number: 22/06210-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: April 01, 2023
• End date: March 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Immunology - Cellular Immunology
• Principal Investigator: Elson Longo da Silva
• Grantee: Bruna Dias de Lima Fragelli
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 13/07296-2 - CDMF - Center for the Development of Functional Materials, AP.CEPID

Abstract

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the world and estimates indicate that the number of cases and deaths from the disease will increase. Chemotherapy affects both healthy and tumor cells, causing devastating side effects. Therefore, the search for new cancer therapies is necessary. Nanotechnology is a promising area that has advanced rapidly, as it offers materials of easy synthesis, maintenance and low cost. Silver is a metal that has been used for millennia because of its biocidal effects. Its effects in prokaryotic cells are already well established, however, in eukaryotic cells there are still many questions, such as its high toxicity. To get around this, silver is synthesized with other carrier compounds in order to decrease free ions. The synthesis of semiconductors has shown promise as biocidal agents, both for efficiency and safety. The objective of this project is to analyze the cytotoxicity of the semiconductors ±-Ag2WO4 and ²-Ag2MoO4 and their different morphologies (nano- and microparticulate), in the dark and under the action of different wavelengths of irradiation, and their impact on fibroblast cell lines. and murine and human bladder cancer. For this, after the synthesis and characterization of the materials, cell viability assays will be carried out by the MTT methods and with the neutral red dye, cell morphology, production of nitric oxide and reactive oxygen species, cell death by fluorescent markers and flow cytometry. after 24 hours of exposure. It is expected that semiconductors are able to lead to decreased cell viability and increase in cell death and that each morphology presents different behaviors, being potential therapeutic targets for cancer.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

FRAGELLI, BRUNA D. L.; ASSIS, MARCELO; RODOLPHO, JOICE M. A.; GODOY, KRISSIA F.; LIBERO, LAURA O.; ANIBAL, FERNANDA F.; LONGO, ELSON. Modulation of cell death mechanisms via α-Ag 2 WO 4 morphology-dependent factors. JOURNAL OF PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND PHOTOBIOLOGY B-BIOLOGY, v. 257, p. 11-pg., 2024-06-07. (13/07296-2, 22/06210-6)