The Effects of Nanometer Titanium Dioxide on Tumor Cells and in Rats with Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Abstract

A drug delivery system based on nanomaterials has demonstrated a powerful function in disease treatment. In this study, a titanium-dioxide-nanotube-based cisplatin (nano-TiO2-DDP) delivery system was designed, and its effects in rats with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and on tumor cells were analyzed. First, we obtained electrochemistry anodic oxidation (EAO) for the preparation of Nnano-TiO2, which was adopted as the carrier of cisplatin (CDDP). Then, we used a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to characterize and study the surface morphology of nano-TiO2. At the cellular level, flow cytometry, MTT, and Transwell assays were performed to analyze the apoptosis, proliferation, and invasion of cells treated by nano-TiO2-DDP, respectively. At the animal level, a xenotransplantation model was established for evaluating tumor growth and changes in experimental animals after injection of nano-TiO2-DDP. As a result, nano-TiO2-DDP strongly suppressed the invasion and vitality of tumor cells, induced their apoptosis, and delivered DDP more efficiently than did systems without a nano-TiO2 structure. In addition, injected nano-TiO2-DDP strongly inhibited the growth of solid tumors in vivo. Therefore, we believe that nano-TiO2-DDP can effectively suppress the growth of NPC, and it is more efficient than conventional drugs.