Abstract: Objective: To study the therapeutic effect of aloe-emodin nano-liposome-mediated photodynamic therapy (PDT) on human tongue squamous cell carcinoma Tca-8113 cells. Methods: Aloe-emodin nanosized liposomes (AE-L) were prepared by reverse phase evaporation method. Aloe-emodin absorption spectra were measured by ultraviolet spectrophotometer. The effects of different concentrations of AE-L (2.5, 5.0, 7.5, 10.0, and 12.5 μg/mL) Tca-8113 cells were treated with different light time (0, 10, 20, 40, 80, and 160 s; excitation wavelength at 405 nm; power density at 80 mW/cm²). Cell viability was detected by MTT assay. After AE-L (7.5 μg/mL) treated for 4 h, the irradiation time was 80 s, the ROS content was analyzed by fluorescence microscopy. Results: When the concentration of AE-L was less than 7.5 μg/mL, there was not difference between PDT group and control group (P>0.05). With the increase of irradiation time, the cell survival rate decreased gradually.When the illumination time was 80 s, the cell survival rate was 76.6%, which is significant different from that of the control group (P<0.001). The results of fluorescent staining showed that the amount of ROS in the cells increased significantly after PDT treatment. Conclusion: The 7.5 μg/mL AE-L-mediated PDT has a significant killing effect on human tongue squamous cell carcinoma Tca-8113 cells.

Key words: Aloe emodin , Liposome , Human tongue squamous cell carcinoma , Photodynamic therapy, Reactive oxygen species