Oregon State scientists have developed (New nanoparticles are effective for cancer treatment) a way to make magnetic nanoparticles hotter than any previous nanoparticle, increasing their ability to fight cancer.
OSU College of Pharmacy faculty led a collaboration that developed a high thermal decomposition process that produces nanoparticles capable of reaching temperatures in cancerous lesions of up to 50 degrees Celsius, or 122 degrees Fahrenheit, when they read another magnetic field.
The results of the original research conducted by Oleh Taratula and Olena Taratula have been published in the journal Pathways.
Magnetic nanoparticles have shown anti-cancer properties for years, scientists say. Once inside the brain, the particles – as small as a billionth of a meter – are exposed to a changing magnetic field. Demonstration in the field, a non-invasive method, heats nanoparticles, reducing or destroying cancer cells.
“Magnetic hyperthermia has great promise for the treatment of many types of cancer,” said Olena Taratula. “Many medical and clinical studies have shown that it can kill cancer cells directly or make them more sensitive to radiation and chemotherapy.”
But now, magnetic hypothermia can be used only for patients who have their tumors through a hypodermic needle, said Oleh Taratula, not for those with difficult-to-reach malignancies such as metastatic ovarian cancer.
“With magnetic nanoparticles now available, the desired treatment temperature – above 44 degrees Celsius – can be achieved by injecting drugs directly into the tumor,” he said. “Nanoparticles have only moderate thermal activity, which means that a high concentration is needed in the tumor to generate enough heat. Many studies have also shown that only a small percentage of nanoparticles that are administered in a systematic manner accumulate in the tumor, making it difficult to reach this high level.
To solve these problems, scientists developed a new chemical production (New nanoparticles are effective for cancer treatment) process that produced magnetic nanoparticles with high heating efficiency. They showed in a mouse model that cobalt-doped nanoparticles accumulate in metastatic ovarian cancer tumors when systemic administration is low, and that when exposed to another magnetic field, the body can rise to a temperature of up to 50 degrees Celsius.
“As far as we know, this is the first time it has been shown that magnetic nanoparticles injected intravenously with the drug recommended in the clinic can raise the temperature of cancerous tissue above 44 degrees Celsius,” Olena Taratula said. . “We also showed that our new method can be used for the synthesis of different core-shell nanoparticles. This may be the basis for the development of new nanoparticles with high heating efficiency, in the future for magnetic hyperthermia for cancer treatment.
Core-shell nanoparticles have an inner structure and an outer shell composed of different materials, he said. Researchers are particularly interested in it because of the unique characteristics that can be derived from the combination of core and shell materials, geometry, and design.
