Selection of potential iron oxide nanoparticles for breast cancer treatment based on in vitro cytotoxicity and cellular uptake

Abstract

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) are promising tools for the treatment of different diseases. Their magnetic properties enable therapies involving magnetic drug targeting (MDT), hyperthermia or imaging. Depending on the intended treatment, specific characteristics of SPIONs are required. While particles used for imaging should circulate for extended periods of time in the vascular system, SPIONs intended for MDT or hyperthermia should be accumulated in the target area to come into close proximity of, or to be incorporated into, specific tumor cells. In this study, we determined the impact of several accurately characterized SPION types varying in size, zeta potential and surface coating on various human breast cancer cell lines and endothelial cells to identify the most suitable particle for future breast cancer therapy. We analyzed cellular SPION uptake, magnetic properties, cell proliferation and toxicity using atomic emission spectroscopy, magnetic susceptometry, flow cytometry and microscopy. The results demonstrated that treatment with dextran-coated SPIONs (SPION Dex ) and lauric acid-coated SPIONs (SPION LA ) with an additional protein corona formed by human serum albumin (SPION LA-HSA ) resulted in very moderate particle uptake and low cytotoxicity, whereas SPION LA had in part much stronger effects on cellular uptake and cellular toxicity. In summary, our data show significant dose-dependent and particle type-related response differences between various breast cancer and endothelial cells, indicating the utility of these particle types for distinct medical applications.

Comparing the Effects of Intracellular and Extracellular Magnetic Hyperthermia on the Viability of BxPC-3 Cells

“…ICP-OES demonstrated that an average of 12.8 ± 3.6 pg Fe was internalised into each cell (with 12.8 pg Fe equating to 16,487 nanoparticles) and subsequent Prussian blue staining confirmed this internalisation and identified the nanoparticles propensity to accumulate around the nuclear membrane. This level of iron uptake into cells is comparable to the results reported from similar protocols published previously [35][36][37]. Next, intracellular hyperthermia, extracellular hyperthermia, and intracellular and extracellular hyperthermia were compared to define differences in viability through Annexin V/7-AAD staining.…”

Albumin and Hyaluronic Acid-Coated Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Loaded with Paclitaxel for Biomedical Applications

“…This is the case of Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) protein [ 16 ]. The same authors from Reference [ 16 ] are working today on human serum albumin, for better biocompatibility, thus supporting the crucial role that protein corona can play [ 17 ].…”

In vitro assays and techniques utilized in anticancer drug discovery

“…Bidkar, Sanpui, and Ghosh () have used PI to confirm viable/apoptotic cells in paclitaxel‐loaded selenium nanoparticles treated colon (HT29), lung (A549), cervical (HeLa) and breast (MCF7) cancer cells. Poller et al () have shown viable/dead breast cancer cells (BT‐474, MCF7, MDA‐MB‐231 and T‐47D) treated with lauric acid‐coated iron oxide nanoparticles using PI. 7‐Aminoactinomycin D is a fluorescent dye that can also be used to detect viable/non‐viable cells (excluded by viable cells) by fluorescence microscopy and FCM (Zembruski, Stache, Haefeli, & Weiss, (Figure ).…”