Novel Schiff base-type N-GQDs and Ag nanocomposites: green synthesis, experimental and theoretical properties and anti-cancer activity against pancreatic cancer
Journal of Molecular Structure, cilt.1377, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 1377
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.molstruc.2026.147118
- Dergi Adı: Journal of Molecular Structure
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Chemical Abstracts Core, Chimica, Compendex, INSPEC, Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO), Engineering Source (EBSCO)
- Anahtar Kelimeler: (triphenylphosphoranyliden)acetaldehyde, Cytotoxicity, DFT, N-doped GQDs, Nanocomposites, Pancreatic cancer, Silver nanoparticles
- Erciyes Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
In this study, we synthesized Schiff base-type PHOS-TREN N-GQDs by reacting (triphenylphosphoranyliden)acetaldehyde (PHOS) with tris(2-aminoethyl)amine (TREN)-functionalized N-doped graphene quantum dots (TREN N-GQDs). AgNPs/PHOS-TREN N-GQDs nanocomposites were prepared by reacting the synthesized PHOS-TREN N-GQDs with AgNO3 in a water medium. The obtained materials were characterized experimentally using FT-IR, UV–Vis, TEM, XPS, and XRD methods, and theoretically using the DFT method. Computational analyses have indicated that incorporating silver enhances key electronic properties, including reactivity, polarity, charge transfer ability, and electrostatic potential interactions, particularly in biologically relevant water environments. Theoretical findings further suggested that silver atoms act as strong electrophilic centers, increasing the dipole moment and polarizability while reducing the HOMO–LUMO energy gap. This creates accessible electron-accepting regions that can interact more efficiently with electron-rich biomolecules such as thiols. Biological assays revealed clear time- and dose-dependent cytotoxicity patterns in PANC-1 pancreatic cancer cells. The AgNPs/PHOS-TREN N-GQDs nanocomposite demonstrated markedly higher potency, with an IC50 value of 4.589 µg/mL at 48 h, which was approximately 23.1-fold lower than that of PHOS-TREN N-GQDs. Additional MTT analysis in normal L929 fibroblast cells showed that PHOS-TREN N-GQDs exhibited lower toxicity toward normal cells (IC50 = 162.1 µg/mL at 48 h; selectivity index = 1.53), whereas AgNPs/PHOS-TREN N-GQDs showed strong cytotoxic potency but a limited in vitro selectivity window (L929 IC50 = 3.752 µg/mL at 48 h; selectivity index = 0.82). Flow cytometry analysis confirmed that cell death occurred mainly through apoptosis, with nearly 50% of cells undergoing apoptotic death, predominantly in the early stages. Overall, these results identify AgNPs/PHOS-TREN N-GQDs as a highly potent nanocomposite platform for pancreatic cancer–related investigations, while also indicating that further optimization of Ag content and surface architecture is required to improve cancer-cell selectivity and normal-cell biocompatibility.