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Tarantino S, Capomolla C, Carlà A, Giotta L, Cascione M, Ingrosso C, Scarpa E, Rizzello L, Caricato AP, Rinaldi R, De Matteis V. Shape-Driven Response of Gold Nanoparticles to X-rays. NANOMATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 13:2719. [PMID: 37836360 PMCID: PMC10574111 DOI: 10.3390/nano13192719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2023] [Revised: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023]
Abstract
Radiotherapy (RT) involves delivering X-ray beams to the tumor site to trigger DNA damage. In this approach, it is fundamental to preserve healthy cells and to confine the X-ray beam only to the malignant cells. The integration of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in the X-ray methodology could be considered a powerful tool to improve the efficacy of RT. Indeed, AuNPs have proven to be excellent allies in contrasting tumor pathology upon RT due to their high photoelectric absorption coefficient and unique physiochemical properties. However, an analysis of their physical and morphological reaction to X-ray exposure is necessary to fully understand the AuNPs' behavior upon irradiation before treating the cells, since there are currently no studies on the evaluation of potential NP morphological changes upon specific irradiations. In this work, we synthesized two differently shaped AuNPs adopting two different techniques to achieve either spherical or star-shaped AuNPs. The spherical AuNPs were obtained with the Turkevich-Frens method, while the star-shaped AuNPs (AuNSs) involved a seed-mediated approach. We then characterized all AuNPs with Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Uv-Vis spectroscopy, Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), zeta potential and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The next step involved the treatment of AuNPs with two different doses of X-radiation commonly used in RT, namely 1.8 Gy and 2 Gy, respectively. Following the X-rays' exposure, the AuNPs were further characterized to investigate their possible physicochemical and morphological alterations induced with the X-rays. We found that AuNPs do not undergo any alteration, concluding that they can be safely used in RT treatments. Lastly, the actin rearrangements of THP-1 monocytes treated with AuNPs were also assessed in terms of coherency. This is a key proof to evaluate the possible activation of an immune response, which still represents a big limitation for the clinical translation of NPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simona Tarantino
- Department of Mathematics and Physics “E. De Giorgi”, University of Salento, Via Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy; (S.T.); (M.C.); (A.P.C.)
| | - Caterina Capomolla
- Oncological Center, “Vito Fazzi” Hospital of Lecce, Piazza Filippo Muratore 1, 73100 Lecce, Italy; (C.C.)
| | - Alessandra Carlà
- Oncological Center, “Vito Fazzi” Hospital of Lecce, Piazza Filippo Muratore 1, 73100 Lecce, Italy; (C.C.)
| | - Livia Giotta
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy;
| | - Mariafrancesca Cascione
- Department of Mathematics and Physics “E. De Giorgi”, University of Salento, Via Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy; (S.T.); (M.C.); (A.P.C.)
- Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems (IMM), National Research Council (CNR), Via Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy
| | - Chiara Ingrosso
- CNR-IPCF S.S. Bari, c/o Department of Chemistry, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via Orabona 4, 70126 Bari, Italy;
| | - Edoardo Scarpa
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy; (E.S.); (L.R.)
- The National Institute of Molecular Genetics (INGM), 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Loris Rizzello
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy; (E.S.); (L.R.)
- The National Institute of Molecular Genetics (INGM), 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Anna Paola Caricato
- Department of Mathematics and Physics “E. De Giorgi”, University of Salento, Via Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy; (S.T.); (M.C.); (A.P.C.)
- National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), Section of Lecce, Via Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy
| | - Rosaria Rinaldi
- Department of Mathematics and Physics “E. De Giorgi”, University of Salento, Via Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy; (S.T.); (M.C.); (A.P.C.)
- Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems (IMM), National Research Council (CNR), Via Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy
| | - Valeria De Matteis
- Department of Mathematics and Physics “E. De Giorgi”, University of Salento, Via Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy; (S.T.); (M.C.); (A.P.C.)
- Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems (IMM), National Research Council (CNR), Via Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy
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Mechanisms of Nanoscale Radiation Enhancement by Metal Nanoparticles: Role of Low Energy Electrons. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24054697. [PMID: 36902132 PMCID: PMC10003700 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24054697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Revised: 02/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Metal nanoparticles are considered as highly promising radiosensitizers in cancer radiotherapy. Understanding their radiosensitization mechanisms is critical for future clinical applications. This review is focused on the initial energy deposition by short-range Auger electrons; when high energy radiation is absorbed by gold nanoparticles (GNPs) located near vital biomolecules; such as DNA. Auger electrons and the subsequent production of secondary low energy electrons (LEEs) are responsible for most the ensuing chemical damage near such molecules. We highlight recent progress on DNA damage induced by the LEEs produced abundantly within about 100 nanometers from irradiated GNPs; and by those emitted by high energy electrons and X-rays incident on metal surfaces under differing atmospheric environments. LEEs strongly react within cells; mainly via bound breaking processes due to transient anion formation and dissociative electron attachment. The enhancement of damages induced in plasmid DNA by LEEs; with or without the binding of chemotherapeutic drugs; are explained by the fundamental mechanisms of LEE interactions with simple molecules and specific sites on nucleotides. We address the major challenge of metal nanoparticle and GNP radiosensitization; i.e., to deliver the maximum local dose of radiation to the most sensitive target of cancer cells (i.e., DNA). To achieve this goal the emitted electrons from the absorbed high energy radiation must be short range, and produce a large local density of LEEs, and the initial radiation must have the highest possible absorption coefficient compared to that of soft tissue (e.g., 20-80 keV X-rays).
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Su M, Lien J, Anilao A, Guo T. Enhanced Single-Strand Breaks of a Nucleic Acid by Gold Nanoparticles under X-ray Irradiation. J Phys Chem Lett 2023; 14:1214-1221. [PMID: 36716218 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c03885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The hydroxyl radical concentration-dependent yield of single-strand breaks (SSBs), obtained through correction of scavenging and hindrance effects caused by gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), for fluorophore- and quencher-labeled DNA on AuNPs was 10 times that of free DNA based on fluorescence measurements of X-ray-irradiated DNA on AuNPs. By comparing the fluorescence data that revealed the number of SSBs with the results of mass spectrometry measurements that detected the total damage to DNA, we found that SSBs dominated DNA damage for DNA on AuNPs whereas non-SSB damage dominated for free DNA. The yield of RNA SSBs under X-ray irradiation was similar to that of DNA in the presence of AuNPs, whereas free RNA was more resistive to radiation than DNA. These results indicated the enhanced SSBs were likely catalyzed through the conversion from nucleobase damage to SSBs by AuNPs. The outcome of this work impacts materials and environmental science, sensing, nanotechnology, biology, and medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengqi Su
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, California 95616, United States
| | - Jennifer Lien
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, California 95616, United States
| | - Auddy Anilao
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, California 95616, United States
| | - Ting Guo
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, California 95616, United States
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Xu X, Wu J, Dai Z, Hu R, Xie Y, Wang L. Monte Carlo simulation of physical dose enhancement in core-shell magnetic gold nanoparticles with TOPAS. Front Oncol 2022; 12:992358. [PMID: 36185221 PMCID: PMC9516316 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.992358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The application of metal nanoparticles (MNPs) as sensitization materials is a common strategy that is used to study dose enhancement in radiotherapy. Recent in vitro tests have revealed that magnetic gold nanoparticles (NPs) can be used in cancer therapy under a magnetic field to enhance the synergistic efficiency in radiotherapy and photothermal therapy. However, magnetic gold NPs have rarely been studied as sensitization materials. In this study, we obtained further results of the sensitization properties of the magnetic gold NPs (Fe3O4@AuNPs) with or without magnetic field using the TOPAS-nBio Monte Carlo (MC) toolkit. We analyzed the properties of Fe3O4@AuNP in a single NP model and in a cell model under monoenergetic photons and brachytherapy, and we investigated whether the magnetic field contributes to the physical sensitization process. Our results revealed that the dose enhancement factor (DEF) of Fe3O4@AuNPs was lower than that of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in a single NP and in a cell irradiated by monoenergetic photons. But it’s worth mentioning that under a magnetic field, the DEF of targeted Fe3O4@AuNPs in a cell model with a clinical brachytherapy source was 22.17% (cytoplasm) and 6.89% (nucleus) higher than those of AuNPs (50 mg/mL). The Fe3O4@AuNPs were proved as an effective sensitization materials when combined with the magnetic field in MC simulation for the first time, which contributes to the research on in vitro tests on radiosensitization as well as clinical research in future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaohan Xu
- Department of Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital & Shenzhen Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Shenzhen, China
- Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Jianan Wu
- Department of Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital & Shenzhen Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Shenzhen, China
- Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Zhitao Dai
- Department of Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital & Shenzhen Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Shenzhen, China
| | - Rui Hu
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University Suzhou Municipal Hospital, Suzhou, China
| | - Yaoqin Xie
- Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
- *Correspondence: Luhua Wang, ; Yaoqin Xie,
| | - Luhua Wang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital & Shenzhen Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Shenzhen, China
- Department of Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
- *Correspondence: Luhua Wang, ; Yaoqin Xie,
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