Synthesis and characterization of europium-doped calcium tetraborate for biomedical applications

Date

2024-11

Author

Yıldırım, İpek

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Inorganic nanoparticles are used in many different biomedical applications such as bioimaging and drug delivery systems. In this study, calcium tetraborate nanoparticles were synthesized for the first time for these application purposes using the solution-combustion synthesis method, which is one of the most efficient and cost-effective methods. Nanoparticles were doped with different molar ratios of Eu3+ to gain optical properties which is important for bioimaging. When photoluminescent measurements of Eu3+-doped CaB4O7 were conducted, it was observed that the highest photoluminescent intensity was achieved with a 12 mol% Eu3+ doping. Nanoparticles should be coated with functional groups before drug loading for use as drug carrier packages. The functional groups used for these coatings are made with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and folic acid (FA) to impart various properties such as increasing circulation time, improving solubility, and enabling targeted drug delivery to cancer cells. Then, the drug loading and release profile of the nanoparticles was carried out using the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) at pH 7.4 and 5.5, and samples with and without surface coating were compared. The drug loading capacity of noncoated CaB4O7 doped with Eu3+ was calculated to be 19.42%±0.36 by weight, and for PEG-FA coated CaB4O7 doped with Eu3+, it was 19.33%±0.45. When the drug release profiles of all nanoparticles were examined, it was observed that they exhibited slow, steady, and controlled release. CaB4O7 has not shown any toxic effect on healthy cells. Additionally, the cytotoxic effect of DOX-loaded nanoparticles on T98G cells is much higher than that of free DOX because the cells can easily internalize the nanoparticles due to their small size. The significance of this study is that for the first time, CaB4O7 nanoparticles were synthesized with Eu3+ doping, surface functionalization studies were conducted with PEG-FA, and drug loading and release experiments were carried out. The obtained results have proven that the produced nanoparticles can emit intense red light in the visible region when stimulated by ultraviolet light, allow for a high amount of drug loading, release the drug slowly, and have a surface that can be modified. Therefore, our study is of great importance in shedding light on the biomedical applications of inorganic nanoparticles. Additionally, this study investigated the effect of DOX-loaded tetraborate nanoparticles on glioblastoma cells for the first time, potentially opening up new avenues for future research into glioblastoma treatments.

Subject Keywords

Calcium Tetraborate, Photoluminescence, Drug Delivery, Doxorubicin

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/112924

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis