Document Type : Original Research

Authors

• Naghmeh Sattarahmady ^{1, 2}
• Zahra Kayani ^{1, 3}
• Hossein Heli ¹
• Parsa Faghani-Eskandarkolaei ⁴
• Hanieh Haghighi ^{1, 2}

¹ Nanomedicine and Nanobiology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

² Department of Medical Physics and Engineering, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

³ Research Center for the Physics of Matter and Radiation, Namur Research Institute for Life Sciences, University of Namur, Belgium

⁴ Department of Medical Physics, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

Abstract

Background: Photothermal therapy (PTT) is one of the effective and non-invasive strategies which hold great promise for improving the treatment of cancer cells. PTT is based on activating a photosensitizer by infrared light irradiation and producing heat and reactive species and apoptosis in the tumor area.
Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of photothermal/chemotherapy on melanoma cancer cells using poly(2-amino phenol)/gold (P2AO/AuNPs) and doxorubicin (DOX).
Material and Methods: In this experimental study, nanoparticles of P2AO/AuNPs were synthesized, and their mixture with DOX was applied as a photosensitizer for photothermal/chemotherapy of a C540 (B16-F10) melanoma cell line.
Results: P2AO/AuNPs generated heat and cytotoxic responsive oxygen species (ROS) upon 808-nm light irradiation with simultaneous intensifying DOX therapeutic effect under domination of synergism effects between light irradiation, P2AO/AuNPs, and doxorubicin. Cell treatment with both P2AO/AuNPs and DOX resulted in a considerable increase in necroptotic cells to 61% with a significant decrease in the living cells (39%). 
Conclusion: P2AO/AuNPs provided a platform for light absorption and intensifying DOX therapeutic effect. This study approved the applicability of a new photothermal/chemotherapy by domination of synergistic effects attained by combination of laser light, P2AO, AuNPs, and DOX.

Keywords

• Metal Nanoparticles
• Phototherapy
• Malignant Melanoma
• Photoablation
• Apoptosis
• Doxorubicin