The Development of Multi-modal, pH-sensitive Quantum Dots for the Detection of Breast Cancer

© 2024 by the Authors. Licensee Whioce Publishing, Singapore. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution -Noncommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ )

Download PDF

Cite

XML

HTML

Abstract

In the current decade, a significant amount of women have been diagnosed with breast cancer. There is a one in eight chance that women will develop breast cancer. It consists of a high fatality rate and tragic death due to the existing barriers set by current methods that are accessible as a treatment for breast cancer. For example, most treatment plans include a combination of surgery, radiation, hormone therapy, chemotherapy, and targeted therapies. However, due to the collateral damage from multiple follow-up surgeries and subsequent infections, some patients are even averse to starting or continuing treatment. Chemotherapy can result in fatigue, pain in the fingers and feet, increased risk of infection, and more. Hormone therapy can result in similar symptoms but also include nausea, muscle and joint pain, and headaches. Especially breast biopsy, the removal of a sample of breast tissue for diagnosis, is very painful for patients. It takes multiple days to get a diagnosis. It also results in soreness, swelling, or bruising at the biopsy site. This article will attempt to address the current limitations of breast cancer diagnosis by suggesting an innovative method on multimodal pH and progesterone-sensitive quantum dots to detect breast cancer faster and cheaper. Just a sample of blood is needed from the patient, and the quantum dot sensor will detect the cancerous cells through the emission of wavelengths of about 475 and 1300 nm with a cyan color and infrared radiation. These wavelengths can be translated to quantitative graphs with a spectrophotometer. With its optical sensor, the quantum dot will significantly reduce the price of getting a diagnosis, and it will be able to diagnose the patient almost immediately. Further, it does not require a trained professional to diagnose, which is a significant improvement over the current techniques.

References

Joshi D, 2019, Breast Cancer Treatment: Survival Facts and Associated Side Effects. International Journal of Innovative Science and Technology, 4(1): 33–39. https://doi.org/10.22270/ijist.v4i1.37

Glechner A, Wagner G, Mitus JW, et al., 2023, Mammography in Combination with Breast Ultrasonography Versus Mammography for Breast Cancer Screening in Women at Average Risk. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 3(3): CD009632. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd009632.pub3

Burgstaller S, Bischof H, Gensch T, et al., 2019, pH-Lemon, a Fluorescent Protein-Based pH Reporter for Acidic Compartments. ACS Sensors, 4(4): 883−891. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssensors.8b01599

Swietach P, Vaughan-Jones RD, Harris AL, et al., 2014, The Chemistry, Physiology and Pathology of pH in Cancer. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B, Biological Sciences, 369(1638): 20130099. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2013.0099

Wekking D, Porcu M, Silva PD, et al., 2023, Breast MRI: Clinical Indications, Recommendations, and Future Applications in Breast Cancer Diagnosis. Current Oncology Reports, 25(3): 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11912-023-01372-x

Sadeghi S, Eren GO, Nizamoglu S, 2021, Strategies for Improving Performance, Lifetime, and Stability in Light-emitting Diodes using Liquid Medium. Chemical Physics Reviews, 2(4): 0413021. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0058992

Cotta MA, 2020, Quantum Dots and Their Applications: What Lies Ahead? ACS Applied Nano Materials, 3(6): 4920–4924. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.0c01386

Lee S, Shanti A, 2021, Effect of Exogenous pH on Cell Growth of Breast Cancer Cells, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22(18): 9910–9921. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22189910

Rhyner MN, Smith AM, Gao X, et al., 2006, Quantum Dots and Multifunctional Nanoparticles New Contrast Agents for Tumor Imaging. Nanomedicine, 1(2): 209–217. https://doi.org/10.2217/17435889.1.2.209

Hu L, Zhong H, He Z, 2021, Toxicity Evaluation of Cadmium-Containing Quantum Dots — A Review of Optimizing Physicochemical Properties to Diminish Toxicity. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces, 2021(200): 111609–111620. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfb.2021.111609

Phatvej W, Datta HK, Wilkinson SC, et al., 2019, Endocytosis and Lack of Cytotoxicity of Alkyl-Capped Silicon Quantum Dots Prepared from Porous Silicon. Materials, 12(10): 1702–1721. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12101702

Sandall I, Ng JS, David JPR, et al., 2012, 1300 nm Wavelength InAs Quantum Dot Photodetector Grown on Silicon. Optics Express, 20(10): 10446–10452. https://doi.org/10.1364/oe.20.010446

Costanzo LD, Panunzi B, 2021, Visual pH Sensors: From a Chemical Perspective to New Bioengineered Materials. Molecules, 26(10): 2952–2974. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26102952

Goedhart J, Stetten DV, Noirclerc-Savoye M, et al., 2012, A Structure-guided Evolution of Cyan Fluorescent Proteins towards a Quantum Yield of 93%. Nature Communications, 3(751): 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1738

Di Renzo GC, Tosto V, Tsibizova V, 2020, Progesterone: History, Facts and Artifacts. Best Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 2020(69): 2–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2020.07.012

Brisken C, 2013, Progesterone Signaling in Breast Cancer — A Neglected Hormone Coming into the Limelight. Nature Reviews Cancer, 13(6): 385–396. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrc3518

Morch LS, Skovlund CW, Hannaford PC, et al., 2017, Contemporary Hormonal Contraception and the Risk of Breast Cancer. The New England Journal of Medicine, 377(23): 2228–2239. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmoa1700732

Sadikot RT, 2014, The Potential Role of Nano- and Micro-technology in the Management of Critical Illnesses. Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, 2014(77): 27–31. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.addr.2014.07.004

Liang G, Li Y, Feng W, et al., 2016, Polyethyleneimine-coated Quantum Dots for miRNA Delivery and its Enhanced Suppression in HepG2 Cells. International Journal of Nanomedicine, 2016(11): 6078–6088. https://doi.org/10.2147/IJN.S120828

Davidson-Hall T, Aziz H, 2018, The Role of Polyethylenimine in Enhancing the Efficiency of Quantum Dot Light-emitting Devices. Nanoscale, 10(5): 2623–2631. https://doi.org/10.1039/C7NR07683E

Chung DS, Davidson-Hall T, Yu H, et al., 2021, Significant Enhancement in Quantum-dot Light Emitting Device Stability via a ZnO: Polyethylenimine Mixture in the Electron Transport Layer. Nanoscale Advances, 3(20): 5900–5907. https://doi.org/10.1039/D1NA00561H

Xu Q, Li C, Meng X, et al., 2024, Polyethylenimine-modified Graphene Quantum Dots Promote Endothelial Cell Proliferation. Regenerative biomaterials, 2024(11): rbae013. https://doi.org/10.1093/rb/rbae013

Yang HN, Park JS, Jeon SY, et al., 2014, The Effect of Quantum Dot Size and Poly(ethylenimine) Coating on the Efficiency of Gene Delivery into Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells. Biomaterials, 35(29): 8439–8449. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2014.06.024

Lee J, Burdette JE, MacRenaris KW, et al., 2007, Rational Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Progesterone-Modified MRI Contrast Agents. Chemistry & Biology, 14(7): 824–834. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chembiol.2007.06.006

Liu W, Haworth M, Greytak AB, et al., 2008, Compact Biocompatible Quantum Dots Functionalized for Cellular Imaging. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 130(4): 1274–1284. https://doi.org/10.1021/ja076069p

Hawley TS, Hawley RG, Telford WG, 2017, Fluorescent Proteins for Flow Cytometry. Current Protocols in Cytometry, 80(1): 9.12.1–9.12.20. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpcy.17

Goedhart J, Weeren Lv, Hink MA, et al., 2010, Bright Cyan Fluorescent Protein Variants Identified by Fluorescence Lifetime Screening. Nature Methods, 7(2): 137–139. https://doi.org/10.1038/nmeth.1415

Spiess E, Bestvater F, Heckel-Pompey A, et al., 2005, Two-photon Excitation and Emission Spectra of the Green Fluorescent Protein Variants ECFP, EGFP and EYFP. Journal of Microscopy, 217(3): 200–204. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2818.2005.01437.x

Chen M, Chen C, Shen Z, et al., 2017, Extracellular pH is a Biomarker Enabling Detection of Breast Cancer and Liver Cancer using CEST MRI. Oncotarget, 8(28): 45759–45767. https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.17404

Kroman N, Wohlfahrt J, Mouridsen HT, 2003, Influence of Tumor Location on Breast Cancer Prognosis. International Journal of Cancer, 105(4): 542–545. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ijc.11116

Sohn VY, Arthurs ZM, Sebesta JA, et al., 2008, Primary Tumor Location Impacts Breast Cancer Survival. American Journal of Surgery, 195(5): 641–644. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amjsurg.2007.12.039

Zhang M, Yue J, Cui R, et al., 2018, Bright Quantum Dots Emitting at ∼1,600 nm in the NIR-IIb Window for Deep Tissue Fluorescence Imaging. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 115(26): 6590–6595. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1806153115

Previous article in this issue

Next article in this issue