Fighting Non-Small Lung Cancer Cells Using Optimal Functionalization of Targeted Carbon Quantum Dots Derived from Natural Sources Might Provide Potential Therapeutic and Cancer Bio Image Strategies

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is an important sub-type of lung cancer associated with poor diagnosis and therapy. Innovative multi-functional systems are urgently needed to overcome the invasiveness of NSCLC. Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) derived from natural sources have received interest for their potential in medical bio-imaging due to their unique properties, which are characterized by their water solubility, biocompatibility, simple synthesis, and low cytotoxicity. In the current study, ethylene-diamine doped CQDs enhanced their cytotoxicity (98 ± 0.4%, 97 ± 0.38%, 95.8 ± 0.15%, 86 ± 0.15%, 12.5 ± 0.14%) compared to CQDs alone (99 ± 0.2%, 98 ± 1.7%, 96 ± 0.8%, 93 ± 0.38%, 91 ± 1.3%) at serial concentrations (0.1, 1, 10, 100, 1000 μg/mL). In order to increase their location in a specific tumor site, folic acid was used to raise their functional folate recognition. The apoptotic feature of A549 lung cells exposed to N-CQDs and FA-NCQDs was characterized by a light orange-red color under fluorescence microscopy. Additionally, much nuclear fragmentation and condensation were seen. Flow cytometry results showed that the percentage of cells in late apoptosis and necrosis increased significantly in treated cells to (19.7 ± 0.03%), (27.6 ± 0.06%) compared to untreated cells (4.6 ± 0.02%), (3.5 ± 0.02%), respectively. Additionally, cell cycle arrest showed a strong reduction in cell numbers in the S phase (14 ± 0.9%) compared to untreated cells (29 ± 0.5%). Caspase-3 levels were increased significantly in A549 exposed to N-CQDs (2.67 ± 0.2 ng/mL) and FA-NCQDs (3.43 ± 0.05 ng/mL) compared to untreated cells (0.34 ± 0.04 ng/mL). The functionalization of CQDs derived from natural sources has proven their potential application to fight off non-small lung cancer.