Shape-oriented photodynamic therapy of cuprous oxide (Cu2O) nanocrystals for cancer treatment

Abstract

We report a novel method used for the synthesis of cuprous oxide nanocrystals at room temperature by varying the concentration of the reducing agent and probed their photodynamic activity on HeLa cells. Three different shapes of cuprous oxide nanocrystals (NCs) were synthesized, including cubic, hexagonal and octahedral forms, and investigated for their photodynamic properties. Cuprous oxide generated reactive oxygen species (ROS) after irradiation with a green laser (λ = 532 nm). TEM, XRD, EDX, and FTIR were applied to characterize their shape factors and optical properties. Cubic, hexagonal and octahedral shapes of cuprous oxide nanocrystals were used for photodynamic therapy via incubation with HeLa cells and irradiation with a green laser. The octahedral NCs exhibit the highest photodynamic activity for killing HeLa cells, as evaluated using a trypan blue assay, and a high production of reactive oxygen species was observed.