The photothermal effect of silica-carbon hollow sphere-concanavalin A on liver cancer cells

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers and causes of death by cancer. Concanavalin A (ConA) lectin can specifically bind to the glycoprotein receptors of HCC, which are produced by the aberrant overexpression of liver cancer cells. ConA was used in the current study to conjugate on silica-carbon hollow spheres (SCHSs) and applied in the thermal ablation therapy of liver cancer cell lines under near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation. We found that the amount of ConA-SCHS complex binding to hepatoma cells was significantly higher than that seen with normal hepatocytes, based on flow cytometric analysis and confocal imaging. Hepatoma cells incubated with ConA-SCHSs were thus more easily killed by the subsequent irradiation with a NIR laser. The results show that the ConA-SCHS complex may enhance the interaction with highly expressed ConA receptors on hepatoma cells, and thus serve as an effective photothermal therapy agent for liver cancer treatment.