UV-C driven reduction of nanographene oxide opens path for new applications in phototherapy

Filipa A L S Silva; Licínia Timochenco; Raquel Costa-Almeida; José Ramiro Fernandes; Susana G Santos; Fernão D Magalhães; Artur M Pinto

doi:10.1016/j.colsurfb.2023.113594

UV-C driven reduction of nanographene oxide opens path for new applications in phototherapy

Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces. 2024 Jan:233:113594. doi: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2023.113594. Epub 2023 Oct 12.

Authors

Filipa A L S Silva¹, Licínia Timochenco², Raquel Costa-Almeida³, José Ramiro Fernandes⁴, Susana G Santos³, Fernão D Magalhães⁵, Artur M Pinto⁶

Affiliations

¹ LEPABE - Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias s/n, 4200-180 Porto, Portugal; ALiCE - Associate Laboratory in Chemical Engineering, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias s/n, 4200-180 Porto, Portugal; i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen, 208, 4200-180 Porto, Portugal; INEB - Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica, Universidade do Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen, 208, 4200-180 Porto, Portugal.
² LEPABE - Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias s/n, 4200-180 Porto, Portugal; ALiCE - Associate Laboratory in Chemical Engineering, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias s/n, 4200-180 Porto, Portugal; i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen, 208, 4200-180 Porto, Portugal.
³ i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen, 208, 4200-180 Porto, Portugal; INEB - Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica, Universidade do Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen, 208, 4200-180 Porto, Portugal.
⁴ CQVR - Centro de Química Vila Real, Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal; Physical Department, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Quinta dos Prados, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal.
⁵ LEPABE - Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias s/n, 4200-180 Porto, Portugal; ALiCE - Associate Laboratory in Chemical Engineering, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias s/n, 4200-180 Porto, Portugal.
⁶ LEPABE - Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias s/n, 4200-180 Porto, Portugal; ALiCE - Associate Laboratory in Chemical Engineering, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias s/n, 4200-180 Porto, Portugal; i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen, 208, 4200-180 Porto, Portugal; INEB - Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica, Universidade do Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen, 208, 4200-180 Porto, Portugal. Electronic address: arturp@fe.up.pt.

PMID: 37979484
DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2023.113594

Abstract

The main challenges associated to the application of graphene-based materials (GBM) in phototherapy are obtaining particles with lateral nanoscale dimensions and water stability that present high near-infrared (NIR) absorption. Nanosized graphene oxide (GOn) is stable in aqueous dispersion, due to the oxygen functionalities on its surface, but possesses low photothermal efficiency in NIR region. GOn total reduction originates reduced nanographene oxide (rGOn) that presents high NIR absorption, but poor water stability. In this work, we produced a partially reduced nanographene oxide (p-rGOn) by GOn photoreduction using ultraviolet radiation (UV-C), yielding nanometric particles that preserve the original water stability, but acquire high light-to-heat conversion efficiency. GOn and p-rGOn presented mean particle sizes of 170 ± 81 nm and 188 ± 99 nm, respectively. 8 h of UV-C irradiation allowed to obtain a p-rGOn stable for up 6 months in water, with a zeta potential of -32.3 ± 1.3 mV. p-rGOn water dispersions have shown to absorb NIR radiation, reaching 52.7 °C (250 µg mL^-1) after 30 min NIR irradiation. Chemical characterization of p-rGOn showed a decrease in the number of characteristic oxygen functional groups, confirming GOn partial reduction. Furthermore, p-rGOn (250 µg mL^-1) didn't cause any cytotoxicity (ISO10993-5:2009(E)) towards human skin fibroblasts (HFF-1) and human skin keratinocytes (HaCat), after 24 and 48 h incubation. An innovative custom-built NIR LED-system has been developed and validated for p-rGOn photothermal effect evaluation. Finally, exposure to p-rGOn+NIR-LEDs has caused no cytotoxicity towards HFF-1 or HaCat cells, revealing its potential to be used as a safe therapy.

Keywords: Biocompatibility; Graphene-based materials; NIR LED irradiation system; Nanomaterials; Partially reduced nanographene oxide; Photothermal therapy.

MeSH terms

Humans
Oxides*
Oxygen
Phototherapy / methods
Ultraviolet Rays*
Water

Substances

Oxides
Oxygen
Water