In vitro hyperspectral biomarkers of human chondrosarcoma cells in nanoparticle-mediated radiosensitization using carbon ions

New therapeutic approaches are needed for the management of the highly chemo- and radioresistant chondrosarcoma (CHS). In this work, we used polyethylene glycol-encapsulated iron oxide nanoparticles for the intracellular delivery of the chemotherapeutic doxorubicin (IONPDOX) to augment the cytotoxic effects of carbon ions in comparison to photon radiation therapy. The in vitro biological effects were investigated in SW1353 chondrosarcoma cells focusing on the following parameters: cell survival using clonogenic test, detection of micronuclei (MN) by cytokinesis blocked micronucleus assay and morphology together with spectral fingerprints of nuclei using enhanced dark-field microscopy (EDFM) assembled with a hyperspectral imaging (HI) module. The combination of IONPDOX with ion carbon or photon irradiation increased the lethal effects of irradiation alone in correlation with the induction of MN. Alterations in the hyperspectral images and spectral profiles of nuclei reflected the CHS cell biological modifications following the treatments, highlighting possible new spectroscopic markers of cancer therapy effects. These outcomes showed that the proposed combined treatment is promising in improving CHS radiotherapy.

Method for nanoparticles uptake evaluation based on double labeled fluorescent cells scanned in enhanced darkfield microscopy

We present a method that integrates the standard imaging tools for locating and detecting unlabeled nanoparticles (NPs) with computational tools for partitioning cell volumes and NPs counting within specified regions to evaluate their internal traffic. The method uses enhanced dark field CytoViva optical system and combines 3D reconstructions of double fluorescently labeled cells with hyperspectral images. The method allows the partitioning of each cell image into four regions: nucleus, cytoplasm, and two neighboring shells, as well as investigations across thin layers adjacent to the plasma membrane. MATLAB scripts were developed to process the images and to localize NPs in each region. Specific parameters were computed to assess the uptake efficiency: regional densities of NPs, flow densities, relative accumulation indices, and uptake ratios. The results of the method are in line with biochemical analyses. It was shown that a sort of saturation limit for intracellular NPs density is reached at high extracellular NPs concentrations. Higher NPs densities were found in the proximity of the plasma membranes. A decrease of the cell viability with increasing extracellular NPs concentration was observed and explained the negative correlation of the cell eccentricity with NPs number.