RAPTA-Decorated Polyacrylamide Nanoparticles: Exploring their Synthesis, Physical Properties and Effect on Cell Viability

In this study, we report the first successful immobilisation of a known cytoactive [Ru(eta(6)-arene)(C2O4)PTA] (RAPTA) complex to a biologically inert polyacrylamide nanoparticle support. The nanoparticles have been characterised by zetasizer analysis, UV/Vis, ATR-FTIR, TGA and ICP-MS to qualitatively and quantitatively confirm the presence of the metallodrug on the surface of the carrier. The native RAPTA complex required a concentration of 50 mu M to produce a cell viability of 47.1 +/- 2.1 % when incubated with human Caucasian colorectal adenocarcinoma cells for 72 h. Under similar conditions a cell viability of 45.1 +/- 1.9 % was obtained with 0.5 mu M of RAPTA complex in its immobilised form. Therefore, conjugation of the RAPTA metallodrug to our nanoparticle carriers resulted in a significant 100-fold decrease in effective concentration of ruthenium required for a near identical biological effect on cell viability.

Automated summary

In this study, the RAPTA complex was successfully immobilized onto biologically inert polyacrylamide nanoparticles, resulting in a significant decrease in the effective concentration of ruthenium required for a near identical biological effect on cell viability. This conjugation of the RAPTA metallodrug to nanoparticle carriers demonstrated the potential for controlled cell activity and enhanced efficiency in cancer treatment.