Graphene Oxide-Induced Protein Conformational Change in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Cells: A Joint Research on Cytotoxicity and Photon Therapy

Selvaraj Rajesh Kumar; Ya-Hui Hsu; Truong Thi Tuong Vi; Jong-Hwei Su Pang; Yao-Chang Lee; Chia-Hsun Hsieh; Shingjiang Jessie Lue

doi:10.3390/ma14061396

Graphene Oxide-Induced Protein Conformational Change in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Cells: A Joint Research on Cytotoxicity and Photon Therapy

Materials (Basel). 2021 Mar 13;14(6):1396. doi: 10.3390/ma14061396.

Authors

Selvaraj Rajesh Kumar¹, Ya-Hui Hsu², Truong Thi Tuong Vi¹, Jong-Hwei Su Pang^{2

3}, Yao-Chang Lee⁴, Chia-Hsun Hsieh^{5

6

7}, Shingjiang Jessie Lue^{1

8

9

10}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Chang Gung University, Wenhua 1st Road, Guishan, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan.
² Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Sciences, Chang Gung University, Wenhua 1st Road, Guishan, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan.
³ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Dinghu Road, Guishan, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan.
⁴ National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, Hsin Ann Road, Hsinchu City 300, Taiwan.
⁵ Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, New Taipei Municipal TuCheng Hospital, Jincheng Road, New Taipei City 236, Taiwan.
⁶ Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Fusing Street, Guishan, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan.
⁷ School of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Wenhua 1st Road, Guishan, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan.
⁸ Division of Join Reconstruction, Department of Orthopedics, Chang Gung Medical Center at Linkou, Fusing Street, Guishan, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan.
⁹ Department of Safety, Health and Environment Engineering, Ming-Chi University of Technology, Gongzhuan Road, Taishan, New Taipei City 243, Taiwan.
¹⁰ Center for Environmental Sustainability and Human Health, Ming-Chi University of Technology, Gongzhuan Road, Taishan, New Taipei City 243, Taiwan.

Abstract

The objectives of this work aim to investigate the interaction and cytotoxicity between nanometric graphene oxide (GO) and nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells (NPC-BM1), and possible application in photon therapy. GO nanosheets were obtained in the size range of 100-200 nm, with a negative surface charge. This nanometric GO exhibited a limited (<10%) cytotoxicity effect and no significant dimensional change on NPC-BM1 cells in the tested GO concentration range (0.1-10 µg·mL^-1). However, the secondary protein structure was modified in the GO-treated NPC-BM1 cells, as determined through synchrotron radiation-based Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy (SR-FTIRM) mapping. To further study the cellular response of GO-treated NPC-BM1 cancer cells at low GO concentration (0.1 µg·mL^-1), photon radiation was applied with increasing doses, ranging from 2 to 8 Gy. The low radiation energy (<5 Gy) did not cause significant cell mortality (5-7%). Increasing the radiation energy to 6-8 Gy accelerated cell apoptosis rate, especially in the GO-treated NPC-BM1 cells (27%). This necrosis may be due to GO-induced conformational changes in protein and DNA/RNA, resulting in cell vulnerability under photon radiation. The findings of the present work demonstrate the potential biological applicability of nanometric GO in different areas, such as targeted drug delivery, cellular imaging, and radiotherapy, etc.

Keywords: cancer cells; cell viability; graphene oxide nanosheets; photon therapy; synchrotron radiation.