The low selectivity of chemotherapeutic compounds and their associated side effects could be greatly improved if micrometric‑sized vehicles were used, because their lack of self-diffusion may keep the effects focalized. In this work, researchers from Supramolecular Systems in Nanobiomedicine in an international collaboration, used polysilicon microparticles (SiµP) to conjugate bipyridinium-based compounds to induce cytotoxicity in cancerous HeLa cells. The less densely packed functionalization achieved with cyclic compounds (as compared to open chain analogues) promotes higher cytotoxicity per bipy conjugated. The highly efficient cytotoxicity of these functionalized microchips might be due to their self‑renewing ability and their proximity to cell membranes, leading to increased lipid peroxidation and cytotoxicity in less time and at concentrations three orders of magnitude lower than that in solution.
Polysilicon Microchips Functionalized with Bipyridinium-Based Cyclophanes for a Highly Efficient Cytotoxicity in Cancerous Cells. D.Limon, J.E. Hornick, K. Cai, Y. Beldjoudi, M. Duch, J.A. Plaza, L. Perez-Garcia, J.F. Stoddart. ACS Nano., 2022