Hybrid Nanosystems Based on Selenium Nanoparticles, Radachlorin, and Polymer Carriers (Graft Copolymers): Synthesis, Morphology, and Spectral Characteristics

Abstract

The goal of the work is to create a new generation of highly effective antitumor drugs for photodynamic therapy (PDT), a method based on the interaction of light with a photosensitizer (PS), localized primarily in cancer-affected tissue, which leads to the formation of cytotoxic forms of oxygen and the death of cancer cells. Hybrid three-component nanosystems (HTNs) are synthesized based on selenium (Se⁰) nanoparticles (NPs), the photosensitizer Radachlorin (RC) and polymer carriers (PСs), i.e., graft copolymers with a polyimide or cellulose main chain and side chains of polymethacrylic acid (PMAA). Using ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy, the formation of a HTNs is proven, presumably due to the hydrophobic interactions of selenium NPs with the methyl groups of the PСs (1st stage), followed by the incorporation of Se⁰ NPs of the metal-porphyrin complex type inside the porphyrin ring of RС (2nd stage). For all studied HTNs, discrete spherical nanostructures with a diameter of D_AFM = 80–400 nm are revealed by AFM. The synthesized HTNs are promising as photosensitive compounds for the treatment and diagnosis of oncological diseases by the PDT method.