Fig. 3: Cell uptake of boron capsule is notable and induces efficient cell death after neutron irradiation.

A Cell viability assays of boron capsule and PEG-B-COF in B16F10 and MC38 cancer cells (n = 6 independent experiments, P value < 0.0001), respectively. B Cell uptake of boron capsule is time-dependent. Representative confocal images of B16F10 and MC38 cells are shown after being treated by FITC fluorophore-conjugated boron capsule (1 mg/mL) for 2 hours and 24 hours, respectively. Green fluorescence clearly shows the cyto-distribution of boron capsules. C Number of boron capsule per cell in the giving field of view (FOV) by confocal microscopy (n = 10 fields of view). D Boron contents in cancer cells (n = 3 independent experiments, P value <0.0001). E Efficacy of BNCT on cell viability of B16F10 and MC38 cells (n = 6 independent experiments, P value <0.0001). The cells were treated by boron capsule, B-COF, imiquimod or PBS with (+N) or without neutron irradiation. F B16F10 or MC38 were treated as indicated. Flow-cytometry plots of PI- and annexin V–FITC-stained cells are shown. G The cell death rate was calculated as Annexin V–FITC + /PI + cells and Annexin V–FITC + /PI − cells. (n = 3 independent experiments, P value <0.0001). C, D, Two-tailed unpaired Student’s t-test (***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001). E, G, One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Tukey’s honest significant difference (HSD) post hoc test (***P < 0.001). Data are presented as mean ± SD (A, C, D, E, G). Source data are provided as a Source Data file.