Background: Human trials combining external radiotherapy (RT) and metallic nanoparticles are currently underway in cancer patients. For internal RT, in which a radioisotope such as radioiodine is systemically administered into patients, there is also a need for enhancing treatment efficacy, decreasing radiation-induced side effects and overcoming radio-resistance. However, if strategies vectorising radioiodine through nanocarriers have been documented, sensitizing the neoplasm through the use of nanotherapeutics easily translatable to the clinic in combination with the standard systemic radioiodine treatment has not been assessed yet. Method and materials: The present study explored the potential of hybrid poly (methacrylic acid)-grafted gold nanoparticles to improve the performances of systemic 131 I-mediated RT on cancer cells and in tumor-bearing mice. Such nanoparticles were chosen based on their ability previously described by our group to safely withstand irradiation doses while exhibiting good biocompatibility and enhanced cellular uptake. Results: In vitro clonogenic assays performed on melanoma and colorectal cancer cells showed that poly(methacrylic acid)-grafted gold nanoparticles (PMAA-AuNPs) could efficiently lead to a marked tumor cell mortality when combined to a low activity of radioiodine, which alone appeared to be essentially ineffective on tumor cells. In vivo, tumor enrichment with PMAA-AuNPs significantly enhanced the killing potential of a systemic radioiodine treatment. Conclusion: This is the first report of a simple and reliable nanomedicine-based approach to reduce the dose of radioiodine required to reach curability. In addition, these results open up novel perspectives for using high-Z metallic NPs in additional molecular radiation therapy demonstrating heterogeneous dose distributions.

In the context of cancer treatment, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are considered as very promising radiosensitizers. Here, well-defined polymer-grafted AuNPs were synthesized and studied under gamma irradiation to better understand the involved radiosensitizing mechanisms. First, various water-soluble and well-defined thiol-functionalized homopolymers and copolymers were obtained through Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization. They were then used as ligands in the one-step synthesis of AuNPs, resulting in stable hybrid metalpolymer nanoparticles. Second, these nano-objects were irradiated in solution by gamma rays at different doses. Structures were fully characterized through SEC, SAXS and SANS measurements, prior and after irradiation. We were thus able to quantify and to localize radiation impacts onto the grafted polymers, revealing the production sites of reactive species around AuNPs. Both external and near-surface scissions were observed. Interestingly, the ratio between these two effects was found to vary according to the nature of polymer ligands. Medium-range and long-distance dose enhancements could not be identified from the calculated scission yields, but several mechanisms were considered to explain high yields found for near-surface scissions. Then, cytotoxicity was shown to be equivalent for both nonirradiated and irradiated polymer-grafted NPs, suggesting that released polymer fragments were non-toxic. Finally, the potential to add bioactive molecules such as anticancer drugs has been explored by grafting doxorubicin (DOX) onto the polymer corona. This may lead to nano-objects combining both radiosensitization and chemotherapy effects. This work is the first one to study in details the impact of radiation on radiosensitizing nano-objects combining physical, chemical and biological analyses.