Impact of Surface Chemistry on Apoptotic Markers in HeLa cells

Jocelyn Herelle

Co-Presenters: Individual Presentation

College: The Dorothy and George Hennings College of Science, Mathematics and Technology

Major: Biotechnology/Molecular Biology - STEM 5 Year B.S./M.S.

Faculty Research Mentor: Derrick Swinton

Abstract:

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have garnered significant attention due to their unique properties and potential applications in various fields, including biomedicine. This study investigated the toxicity of gold nanorods on HeLa cell lines as well as the efficacy of synthesizing gold nanorods within our labs. Nanoparticles reflect and refract the particles of light hitting them causing them to absorb at different wavelengths, producing different colored particles. To assess this UV visibility was run on the particles synthesized to measure absorbance. Cell viability against the nanorods was assessed using the MTT assay, which measures the reduction of MTT by mitochondrial enzymes in viable cells.