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Verkhovtsev AV, Nichols A, Mason NJ, Solov'yov AV. Molecular Dynamics Characterization of Radiosensitizing Coated Gold Nanoparticles in Aqueous Environment. J Phys Chem A 2022; 126:2170-2184. [PMID: 35362970 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.2c00489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Functionalized metal nanoparticles (NPs) have been proposed as promising radiosensitizing agents for more efficient radiotherapy treatment using photons and ion beams. Radiosensitizing properties of NPs may depend on many different parameters (such as size, composition, and density) of the metal core, the organic coatings, and the molecular environment. A systematic exploration of each of these parameters on the atomistic level remains a formidable and costly experimental task, but it can be addressed by means of advanced computational modeling. This paper describes a detailed computational procedure for construction and atomistic-level characterization of radiosensitizing metal NPs in explicit molecular media. The procedure is general and is extensible to many different combinations of the core, coating, and environment. As an illustrative and experimentally relevant case study, we consider nanometer-sized gold NPs coated with thiol-poly(ethylene glycol)-amine molecules of different length and surface density and solvated in water at ambient conditions. The radial distribution of different atoms in the coatings as well as distribution and structural properties of water around the coated NPs are analyzed and linked to radiosensitizing properties of the NPs. It is revealed that the structure of the coating layer on the solvated NPs depends strongly on the surface density of ligands. At surface densities below ∼3 molecules/nm2 the coating represents a mixture of different conformation states, whereas elongated "brush"-like structures are formed at higher densities of ligands. The water content in denser coatings is significantly lower at distances from 1 nm up to 3 nm from the gold surface depending on the length of ligand molecules. Such dense and thick coatings may suppress the production of hydroxyl radicals by low-energy electrons emitted from the metal NPs and thus diminish their radiosensitizing properties. The presented computational framework provides precise information for a quantitative atomistic-level description of the structural properties of coated metal NPs in biologically relevant environments and so may form a basis for future developments to achieve a more realistic description of irradiation-driven chemistry effects in the vicinity of coated metal NPs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Adam Nichols
- School of Physical Sciences, Ingram Building, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NH, U.K
| | - Nigel J Mason
- School of Physical Sciences, Ingram Building, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NH, U.K
| | - Andrey V Solov'yov
- MBN Research Center, Altenhöferallee 3, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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Bai L, Jiang F, Wang R, Lee C, Wang H, Zhang W, Jiang W, Li D, Ji B, Li Z, Gao S, Xie J, Ma Q. Ultrathin gold nanowires to enhance radiation therapy. J Nanobiotechnology 2020; 18:131. [PMID: 32917209 PMCID: PMC7488570 DOI: 10.1186/s12951-020-00678-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2020] [Accepted: 08/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Radiation therapy is a main treatment option for cancer. Due to normal tissue toxicity, radiosensitizers are commonly used to enhance RT. In particular, heavy metal or high-Z materials, such as gold nanoparticles, have been investigated as radiosensitizers. So far, however, the related studies have been focused on spherical gold nanoparticles. In this study, we assessed the potential of ultra-thin gold nanowires as a radiosensitizer, which is the first time. METHODS Gold nanowires were synthesized by the reduction of HAuCl4 in hexane. The as-synthesized gold nanowires were then coated with a layer of PEGylated phospholipid to be rendered soluble in water. Spherical gold nanoparticles coated with the same phospholipid were also synthesized as a comparison. Gold nanowires and gold nanospheres were first tested in solutions for their ability to enhance radical production under irradiation. They were then incubated with 4T1 cells to assess whether they could elevate cell oxidative stress under irradiation. Lastly, gold nanowires and gold nanoparticles were intratumorally injected into a 4T1 xenograft model, followed by irradiation applied to tumors (3 Gy/per day for three days). Tumor growth was monitored and compared. RESULTS Our studies showed that gold nanowires are superior to gold nanospheres in enhancing radical production under X-ray radiation. In vitro analysis found that the presence of gold nanowires caused elevated lipid peroxidation and intracellular oxidative stress under radiation. When tested in vivo, gold nanowires plus irradiation led to better tumor suppression than gold nanospheres plus radiation. Moreover, gold nanowires were found to be gradually reduced to shorter nanowires by glutathione, which may benefit fractionated radiation. CONCLUSION Our studies suggest that gold nanowires are a promising type of radiosensitizer that can be safely injected into tumors to enhance radiotherapy. While the current study was conducted in a breast cancer model, the approach can be extended to the treatment of other cancer types.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Bai
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, 130033, Jilin, China
- NHC Key Laboratory of Radiobiology, School of Public Health of Jilin University, Changchun, 130033, Jilin, China
| | - Fangchao Jiang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Renjie Wang
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, 130033, Jilin, China
- NHC Key Laboratory of Radiobiology, School of Public Health of Jilin University, Changchun, 130033, Jilin, China
| | - Chaebin Lee
- Department of Chemistry, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Hui Wang
- Department of Radiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Weizhong Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Wen Jiang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Dandan Li
- Department of Gastrointestinal Medicine, Endoscopy Center, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, 130033, Jilin, China
| | - Bin Ji
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, 130033, Jilin, China
- NHC Key Laboratory of Radiobiology, School of Public Health of Jilin University, Changchun, 130033, Jilin, China
| | - Zibo Li
- Department of Radiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Shi Gao
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, 130033, Jilin, China
- NHC Key Laboratory of Radiobiology, School of Public Health of Jilin University, Changchun, 130033, Jilin, China
| | - Jin Xie
- Department of Chemistry, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA.
| | - Qingjie Ma
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, 130033, Jilin, China.
- NHC Key Laboratory of Radiobiology, School of Public Health of Jilin University, Changchun, 130033, Jilin, China.
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Guerreiro A, Chatterton N, Crabb EM, Golding JP. A comparison of the radiosensitisation ability of 22 different element metal oxide nanoparticles using clinical megavoltage X-rays. Cancer Nanotechnol 2019. [DOI: 10.1186/s12645-019-0057-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background
A wide range of nanoparticles (NPs), composed of different elements and their compounds, are being developed by several groups as possible radiosensitisers, with some already in clinical trials. However, no systematic experimental survey of the clinical X-ray radiosensitising potential of different element nanoparticles has been made. Here, we directly compare the irradiation-induced (10 Gy of 6-MV X-ray photon) production of hydroxyl radicals, superoxide anion radicals and singlet oxygen in aqueous solutions of the following metal oxide nanoparticles: Al2O3, SiO2, Sc2O3, TiO2, V2O5, Cr2O3, MnO2, Fe3O4, CoO, NiO, CuO, ZnO, ZrO2, MoO3, Nd2O3, Sm2O3, Eu2O3, Gd2O3, Tb4O7, Dy2O3, Er2O3 and HfO2. We also examine DNA damage due to these NPs in unirradiated and irradiated conditions.
Results
Without any X-rays, several NPs produced more radicals than water alone. Thus, V2O5 NPs produced around 5-times more hydroxyl radicals and superoxide radicals. MnO2 NPs produced around 10-times more superoxide anions and Tb4O7 produced around 3-times more singlet oxygen. Lanthanides produce fewer hydroxyl radicals than water. Following irradiation, V2O5 NPs produced nearly 10-times more hydroxyl radicals than water. Changes in radical concentrations were determined by subtracting unirradiated values from irradiated values. These were then compared with irradiation-induced changes in water only. Irradiation-specific increases in hydroxyl radical were seen with most NPs, but these were only significantly above the values of water for V2O5, while the Lanthanides showed irradiation-specific decreases in hydroxyl radical, compared to water. Only TiO2 showed a trend of irradiation-specific increase in superoxides, while V2O5, MnO2, CoO, CuO, MoO3 and Tb4O7 all demonstrated significant irradiation-specific decreases in superoxide, compared to water. No irradiation-specific increases in singlet oxygen were seen, but V2O5, NiO, CuO, MoO3 and the lanthanides demonstrated irradiation-specific decreases in singlet oxygen, compared to water. MoO3 and CuO produced DNA damage in the absence of radiation, while the highest irradiation-specific DNA damage was observed with CuO. In contrast, MnO2, Fe3O4 and CoO were slightly protective against irradiation-induced DNA damage.
Conclusions
Beyond identifying promising metal oxide NP radiosensitisers and radioprotectors, our broad comparisons reveal unexpected differences that suggest the surface chemistry of NP radiosensitisers is an important criterion for their success.
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Jung DW, Ro HJ, Kim J, Kim SI, Yi GR, Lee G, Jun S. Biophysical restriction of growth area using a monodispersed gold sphere nanobarrier prolongs the mitotic phase in HeLa cells. RSC Adv 2019; 9:37497-37506. [PMID: 35542263 PMCID: PMC9075507 DOI: 10.1039/c9ra08410j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2019] [Accepted: 11/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Gold nanoparticles are widely exploited for biological and biotechnical applications owing to their stability, biocompatibility, and known effects on cellular behaviors. Many studies have focused on nanoparticles that are internalized into cells, but extracellular nanoparticles also can regulate cell behavior, a practice known as in-plane surface nanotopography. We demonstrated that nanobarriers composed of morphologically homogeneous gold nanospheres prolonged the mitotic (M) phase in the cervical cancer cell line HeLa without inducing apoptosis. The nanobarrier was formed by electrostatic deposition of nanospheres on a negatively charged, fibronectin-coated substrate. We tested the effects of differently sized nanospheres. Gold nanospheres 42 nm in diameter were found to be non-toxic, while 111 nm nanospheres induced the production of reactive oxygen species, resulting in apoptotic cell death and arrest of cytokinesis. When exposed to sufficient 83 nm gold nanospheres to fabricate a surface nanobarrier, the M phase was delayed but cells proceeded to cytokinesis and the G1 phase. Live-cell imaging showed that the M phase increased by 2.9 h, 2.4 times longer than in control cells. Biophysical analyses indicated that this could be attributed to the specific size of the nanobarrier that physically limited the growth area around the cell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dae-Woong Jung
- Korea Basic Science Institute Daejeon 34133 Republic of Korea
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University Suwon 16419 Republic of Korea
| | - Hyun-Joo Ro
- Korea Basic Science Institute Daejeon 34133 Republic of Korea
- Convergent Research Center for Emerging Virus Infection, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology Daejeon 34114 Republic of Korea
- Bio-Analytical Science, University of Science & Technology Daejeon 34113 Republic of Korea
| | - Junmin Kim
- Korea Basic Science Institute Daejeon 34133 Republic of Korea
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University Suwon 16419 Republic of Korea
| | - Seung Il Kim
- Korea Basic Science Institute Daejeon 34133 Republic of Korea
- Convergent Research Center for Emerging Virus Infection, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology Daejeon 34114 Republic of Korea
- Bio-Analytical Science, University of Science & Technology Daejeon 34113 Republic of Korea
| | - Gi-Ra Yi
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University Suwon 16419 Republic of Korea
| | - Gaehang Lee
- Korea Basic Science Institute Daejeon 34133 Republic of Korea
| | - Sangmi Jun
- Korea Basic Science Institute Daejeon 34133 Republic of Korea
- Convergent Research Center for Emerging Virus Infection, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology Daejeon 34114 Republic of Korea
- Bio-Analytical Science, University of Science & Technology Daejeon 34113 Republic of Korea
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