The influence of shear stress on nanomaterial's uptake by MDA-231 breast cancer cells

Abstract

Introduction: Recently, nanotechnology products have been used for a variety of applications including the medical field. Two dimensional (2D) nanomaterials have attracted a growing interest due to its unique properties and ultrathin structure. One common example is MXene, which can be used for cancer photothermal therapy. Methodology: In this study, two 2D nanomaterials, MXene and MXene/Au nanocomposite were fabricated as photothermal agents. To mimic physiological tumor microenvironment, nanocomposites were tested on MDA-231 breast cancer cells under fluid shear stress (~ 0.1 Dyn/cm2) using a perfusion setup. The uptake of these nanomaterials was tested under fluid flow compared to static culture, to assess influence of shear stress in material uptake. The uptake was assessed using confocal microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (EDS) and transmission electron microscopy. Furthermore, viability assessment was performed after exposing the treated cells to laser at different power densities and durations by live/dead assay. Results: This study revealed that there is insignificant difference in cellular uptake under fluid flow compared to static culture. Although when exposed to PTT laser irradiation, MXene alone could increase the temperature up to 100 i C, its cellular uptake is very low (~ 3 ug/ml) which could only increase the temperature up to 44 i C which was not sufficient to induce protein denaturation and cellular damage. Conclusion: MXene can be a good candidate for PTT for cancer treatment, but its cellular internalization should be enhanced. This can be achieved by coating the MXene surface and labeling the material with certain ligands that is cancer cell specific.