The Role of Carbon Nanotubes in Enhancing the Effects of Chemotherapeutic Agents in Cancer Treatment

Nanotoxicology is an important field of study that fills the knowledge gap concerning the introduction of nanomaterials into human cells, their interactions with biological systems, and the assessment of their risks to living organisms. In this study apoptosis and topoisomerase II-mediated DNA breakeages in human cervical cancer cells (HeLa cells) were effectively induced by the commonly used chemotherapeutic agent etoposide at a concentration of (75X10 M) during 6 hrs of exposure. The cytotoxic effect was significantly increased by the addition of (20 μg/ml) single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) during the incubation time. The apoptosis of the cells was observed by analyzing intracellular active caspase-3 and the DNA fragmentation by combining the nanomaterials with the Etoposide. It was found that single walled carbon nanotubes significantly increased the apoptotic efficacy of chemotherapeutic drugs such as etoposide in the treatment of malignancies. Such a combination could lead to the development of novel hybrid drugs that contain both nanostructural materials as well as apoptotic substances for the treatment of chemo resistant cancers.