Engineered riboflavin-cerium oxide nanoparticles for enhanced phototoxicity toward triple-negative breast cancer cells.

Cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO(2) NPs) are redox-active nanomaterials with promising applications in biomedical engineering. In this study, CeO(2) NPs are functionalized with riboflavin to enhance cellular uptake and introduce photoresponsive properties. In vitro studies demonstrate that the resulting riboflavin-modified CeO(2) (Rf-CeO(2)) NPs exhibit low toxicity under dark conditions but exert significantly enhanced cytotoxicity against triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) MDA-MB-231 cells upon ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. This light-triggered cytotoxic effect is attributed to the photoactive nature of riboflavin, which alters reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation upon UV exposure. Our findings highlight the potential of Rf-CeO(2) NPs as a selectively light-activated nanoplatform for targeted cancer therapy that integrates redox functionality and photoactivity into a single engineered nanomaterial, particularly for TNBC and other aggressive cancer subtypes.