Enhancement of fluorescence and anti-tumor effect of ZnO QDs by La doping

Ruixin Hao; Shanshan Luo; Feiyan Wang; Xinyu Pan; Jing Yao; Jielian Wu; Haihong Fang; Wenkui Li

doi:10.3389/fchem.2022.1042038

Enhancement of fluorescence and anti-tumor effect of ZnO QDs by La doping

Front Chem. 2022 Oct 10:10:1042038. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2022.1042038. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Ruixin Hao¹, Shanshan Luo¹, Feiyan Wang², Xinyu Pan¹, Jing Yao¹, Jielian Wu¹, Haihong Fang¹, Wenkui Li²

Affiliations

¹ Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Drug Design and Evaluation, Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University, Nanchang, China.
² Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Surface Engineering, Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University, Nanchang, China.

Abstract

ZnO quantum dots (QDs) have received much attention as biomarkers and drug delivery systems in cancer treatment, due to their low cost, ease of preparation, and pH-responsive degradation. However, its applications are limited by the low quantum yield and light absorption. In this work, a lanthanum-doped zinc oxide (La-ZnO) QDs-based drug delivery platform was constructed. The results show that 4% La doping is the most beneficial for improving the fluorescent properties of the ZnO QDs. After loading the drug, the cell activity was 15% at ZnO@DOX and 12% at La-ZnO@DOX. According to in vitro and in vivo experiment results, the La-ZnO QDs show enhancement of the antitumor effect. Dual enhancement of fluorescence and anti-tumor effects make La-ZnO QDs promising as a drug delivery system in cancer treatment.

Keywords: ZnO; drug delivery; fluorescence; ion doping; quantum dots.