Treatment of glioblastoma by photodynamic therapy with the aid of synthesized silver nanoparticles by green chemistry from citrus aurantium

Abstract

Blood brain barrier is very important to provide treatment locally for the treatment of glioblastoma. The use of nanoparticles has shown promise for glioblastoma treatments in recent years. In this study, the effect of the combined treatment of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) synthesized from Citrus aurantium with photodynamic therapy (PDT) was investigated on U87 glioblastoma cells. AgNPs were characterized by FTIR, zeta potential and SEM images. U87 cells were treated with AgNPs (10 µg/mL) and/or PDT (0.5 mJ/cm2) at 24 h. Cells antiproliferative effect, migration levels, colony formation capability, Bax and Bcl-2 protein/gene expression, and caspase-3 activity levels as apoptotic markers were measured. AgNPs size were found at 141±3 nm and 18.1±1.3 mV as zeta potential. It was found that cell proliferation, migration and Bcl-2 protein/gene levels decreased, and Bax protein/gene levels and caspase-3 activity increased via AgNPs and PDT combined treatment. As a result, nanoparticles synthesized from Citrus aurantium are eco-friendly and their size can cross the blood brain barrier. If AgNPs is used with PDT, it may be a new therapy for clinically treatment of glioblastoma in the future.