Development of a gel with nanostructured silver vanadate semiconductor decorated with silver nanoparticles and evaluation of its antitumor efficacy

• Grant number: 23/18064-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: January 01, 2025
• End date: August 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Dentistry - Dental Materials
• Principal Investigator: Andréa Cândido dos Reis
• Grantee: Izabela Ferreira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Odontologia de Ribeirão Preto (FORP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The composition of the nanostructured silver vanadate semiconductor decorated with silver nanoparticles (¿-AgVO3), with silver and vanadium, showed antimicrobial action when applied to dental materials such as acrylic resins, endodontic cements, dental ceramics and exhibits potential antitumor effect. The probable antitumor action will be evaluated by building this research on three outcomes: the primary one with the synthesis and characterization of ¿-AgVO3 and synthesis and evaluation of the physicochemical properties of a gel with the addition of the semiconductor; secondary outcome with the evaluation of the biological properties of the synthesized materials in vitro; and as a tertiary outcome will be analysis of the application of the gel with ¿ AgVO3 for the reduction of tumor volume in vivo. Detailed synthesis and characterization of ¿-AgVO3 will be carried out to ensure consistency and reliability in the results by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), Raman spectroscopy (RS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Gel formulations will then be created based on the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) values, specific for head and neck carcinoma cells, with the addition of the concentrations multiplied once (1 x IC50), twice (2 x IC50), and five times (5 x IC50), to maximize the anti-tumour potential. The physicochemical properties of the gel, such as pH, viscosity, syringability, spreadability, low angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) test, and ion release evaluation, will be assessed to guarantee the quality and applicability of the final product. In the in vitro phase, tests will be conducted to examine cytotoxicity, genotoxicity to non-tumor cells lines and the ability of the ¿-AgVO3 present in the gel to induce apoptosis in cancer cells for the head and neck carcinoma cell lines, SCC-9, CAL-27 and SCC-25. This analysis will include techniques such as flow cytometry, cell viability and determination of reactive oxygen species. For the in vivo investigation, tumorigenic cells will be injected into Nude BALB mice (n=5). The gel with concentrations of 1 x IC50, 2 x IC50 and 5 x IC50 of ¿-AgVO3 will be applied to the lesion formed and the reduction in tumor volume and subsequent histological analysis of the treated tissue will be evaluated. Statistical analysis of the data obtained will be carried out depending on the distribution with a significance level of 5%. This study aims not only to expand the use of ¿ AgVO3 in dental materials, but also to explore its therapeutic potential for head and neck carcinomas