Mrs. Libat Perla Weiss - M.Sc. candidate
26.05.2024
David Wang Auditorium, 3rd floor Dalia Meidan Bldg.
14:30
This research investigated the synthesis, the nanostructure and the sono-responsiveness of hybrid nanomaterials that combine an amphiphilic poly(vinyl alcohol)-graft-poly(methyl methacrylate) copolymer and amorphous titanium dioxide (TiO2). The process comprises the synthesis of a Ti(IV) oxo-organo complex in dry acetone, its aging and later combination with the amphiphilic graft copolymer in a cosolvent (acetone + dimethyl sulfoxide) and, finally, a nanoprecipitation step in water. The hybrid nanoparticles displayed a size of 100-200 nm (as measured by dynamic light scattering), irregular shape (as visualized by electron microscopy) and long shelf-life. We also investigated the sonodynamic activity of these hybrid nanoparticles in a rhabdomyosarcoma cell line in vitro. Results showed a decrease in cancer cell viability upon exposure to the nanoparticles and treatment with ultrasound and highlight the promise of this flexible synthetic pathway to produce hybrid sono-sensitizers with a variety of sizes and morphologies.