In magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia, a required thermal dosage for tumor destruction greatly depends on nanoparticle distribution in tumors. The objective of this study is to conduct in vivo experiments to evaluate whether local heating using magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia changes nanoparticle concentration distribution in prostatic cancer (PC3) tumors. In vivo animal experiments were performed on grafted PC3 tumors implanted in mice to investigate whether local heating via exposing the tumor to an alternating magnetic field (5 kA/m and 192 kHz) for 25 min resulted in nanoparticle spreading from the intratumoral injection site to tumor periphery. Nanoparticle redistribution due to local heating is evaluated via comparing microCT images of resected tumors after heating to those in the control group without heating. A previously determined calibration relationship between microCT Hounsfield unit (HU) values and local nanoparticle concentrations in the tumors was used to determine the distribution of volumetric heat generation rate (q‴MNH) when the nanoparticles were subject to the alternating magnetic field. sas,matlab, and excel were used to process the scanned data to determine the total heat generation rate and the nanoparticle distribution volumes in individual HU ranges. Compared to the tumors in the control group, nanoparticles in the tumors in the heating group occupied not only the vicinity of the injection site, but also tumor periphery. The nanoparticle distribution volume in the high q‴MNH range (>1.8 × 106 W/m3) is 10% smaller in the heating group, while in the low q‴MNH range of 0.6–1.8 × 106 W/m3, it is 95% larger in the heating group. Based on the calculated heat generation rate in individual HU ranges, the percentage in the HU range larger than 2000 decreases significantly from 46% in the control group to 32% in the heating group, while the percentages in the HU ranges of 500–1000 and 1000–1500 in the heating group are much higher than that in the control group. Heating PC3 tumors for 25 min resulted in significant nanoparticle migration from high concentration regions to low concentration regions in the tumors. The volumetric heat generation rate distribution based on nanoparticle distribution before or after local heating can be used in the future to guide simulation of nanoparticle redistribution and its induced temperature rise in PC3 tumors during magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia, therefore, accurately predicting required thermal dosage for safe and effective thermal therapy.

In this study, we performed in vivo experiments on mice to evaluate whether whole-body hyperthermia enhances nanoparticle delivery to PC3 (prostatic cancer) tumors. PC3 xenograft tumors in immunodeficient mice were used in this study. The mice in the experimental group were subjected to whole-body hyperthermia by maintaining their body temperatures at 39–40 °C for 1 h. Interstitial fluid pressures (IFPs) in tumors were measured before heating, immediately after, and at 2 and 24 h postheating in both the experimental group and in a control group (without heating). A total of 0.2 ml of a newly developed nanofluid containing gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) was delivered via the tail vein in both groups. The micro-computed tomography (microCT) scanned images of the resected tumors were analyzed to visualize the nanoparticle distribution in the tumors and to quantify the total amount of nanoparticles delivered to the tumors. Statistically significant IFP reductions of 45% right after heating, 47% 2 h after heating, and 52% 24 h after heating were observed in the experimental group. Analyses of microCT scans of the resected tumors illustrated that nanoparticles were more concentrated near the tumor periphery rather than at the tumor center. The 1-h whole-body hyperthermia treatment resulted in more nanoparticles present in the tumor central region than that in the control group. The mass index calculated from the microCT scans suggested overall 42% more nanoparticle delivery in the experimental group than that in the control group. We conclude that 1-h mild whole-body hyperthermia leads to sustained reduction in tumoral IFPs and significantly increases the total amount of targeted gold nanoparticle deposition in PC3 tumors. The present study suggests that mild whole-body hyperthermia is a promising approach for enhancing targeted drug delivery to tumors.

Determining the amount of drug transferred into human milk is critical for benefit–risk analysis of taking medication while breastfeeding. In this study, we developed an in vitro and in vivo extrapolation (IVIVE) model to predict human milk/plasma (M/P) drug concentration ratios. Drug unionized fractions at pH 7.0 (F ni,7.0) and 7.4 (F ni,7.4), drug fractions unbound in human plasma (f up) and milk (f um), and in vitro cell permeability in both directions (efflux ratio, ER) were incorporated into the IVIVE model. A multiple regression E max model was chosen to predict f um from f up and polar surface area (PSA). A total of 97 drugs with experimental ER from Caco-2 cells were used to test the IVIVE model. The M/P ratios predicted by the IVIVE model had a 1.93-fold geometric mean fold error (GMFE) and 72% of predictions were within two-fold error (Pw2FE), which were superior to the performance of previously reported five models. The IVIVE model showed a reasonable prediction accuracy for passive diffusion drugs (GMFE = 1.71-fold, Pw2FE = 82%, N = 50), BCRP substrates (BCRP: GMFE = 1.91-fold, Pw2FE = 60%, N = 5), and substrates of P-gp and BCRP (GMFE = 1.74-fold, Pw2FE = 75%, N = 8) and a lower prediction performance for P-gp substrates (GMFE = 2.51-fold, Pw2FE = 55%, N = 22). By fitting the observed M/P ratios of 39 P-gp substrates, an optimized ER (1.61) was generated to predict the M/P ratio of P-gp substrates using the developed IVIVE model. Compared with currently available in vitro models, the developed IVIVE model provides a more accurate prediction of the drug M/P ratio, especially for passive diffusion drugs. The model performance is expected to be further improved when more experimental f um and ER data are available.

Recent micro-CT scans have demonstrated a much larger magnetic nanoparticle distribution volume in tumors after localized heating than those without heating, suggesting possible heating-induced nanoparticle migration. In this study, a theoretical simulation was performed on tumors injected with magnetic nanoparticles to evaluate the extent to which the nanoparticle redistribution affects the temperature elevation and thermal dosage required to cause permanent thermal damage to PC3 tumors. 0.1 cc of a commercially available ferrofluid containing magnetic nanoparticles was injected directly to the center of PC3 tumors. The control group consisted of four PC3 tumors resected after the intratumoral injection, while the experimental group consisted of another four PC3 tumors injected with ferrofluid and resected after 25 min of local heating. The micro-CT scan generated tumor model was attached to a mouse body model. The blood perfusion rates in the mouse body and PC3 tumor were first extracted based on the experimental data of average mouse surface temperatures using an infrared camera. A previously determined relationship between nanoparticle concentration and nanoparticle-induced volumetric heat generation rate was implemented into the theoretical simulation. Simulation results showed that the average steady-state temperature elevation in the tumors of the control group is higher than that in the experimental group where the nanoparticles are more spreading from the tumor center to the tumor periphery (control group: 70.6±4.7 °C versus experimental group: 69.2±2.6 °C). Further, we assessed heating time needed to cause permanent thermal damage to the entire tumor, based on the nanoparticle distribution in each tumor. The more spreading of nanoparticles to tumor periphery in the experimental group resulted in a much longer heating time than that in the control group. The modified thermal damage model by Dr. John Pearce led to almost the same temperature elevation distribution; however, the required heating time was at least 24% shorter than that using the traditional Arrhenius integral, despite the initial time delay. The results from this study suggest that in future simulation, the heating time needed when considering dynamic nanoparticle migration during heating is probably between 19 and 29 min based on the Pearce model. In conclusion, the study demonstrates the importance of including dynamic nanoparticle spreading during heating and accurate thermal damage model into theoretical simulation of temperature elevations in tumors to determine thermal dosage needed in magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia design.