The cellular uptake of meta-tetra (hydroxyphenyl)chlorin entrapped in organically modified silica nanoparticles is mediated by serum proteins

Nanosized objects made of various materials are gaining increasing attention as promising vehicles for the delivery of therapeutic and diagnostic agents for cancer. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) appears to offer a very attractive opportunity to implement drug delivery systems since no release of the sensitizer is needed to obtain the therapeutic effect and the design of the nanovehicle should be much easier. The aim of our study was to investigate the use of organic-modified silica nanoparticles (NPs) for the delivery of the second-generation photosensitizer meta-tetra(hydroxyphenyl) chlorin (mTHPC) to cancer cells in vitro. mTHPC was entrapped in NPs (similar to 33 nm diameter) in a monomeric form which produced singlet oxygen with a high efficiency. In aqueous media with high salt concentrations, the NPs underwent aggregation and precipitation but their stability could be preserved in the presence of foetal bovine serum. The cellular uptake, localization and phototoxic activity of mTHPC was determined comparatively in human oesophageal cancer cells after its delivery by the NPs and the standard solvent ethanol/poly(ethylene glycol) 400/water (20: 30: 50, by vol). The NP formulation reduced the cellular uptake of mTHPC by about 50% in comparison to standard solvent while it did not affect the concentration-dependent photokilling activity of mTHPC and its intracellular localization. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer measurements, using NPs with mTHPC physically entrapped and a cyanine covalently linked, and ultracentrifugation experiments indicated that mTHPC is transferred from NPs to serum proteins when present in the medium. However, the coating of the NP surface with poly(ethylene glycol) largely prevented the transfer to proteins. In conclusion, mTHPC is rapidly transferred from the uncoated nanoparticles to the serum proteins and then internalized by the cells as a protein complex, irrespective of its modality of delivery.