Rapid tumor inhibition via magnetic hyperthermia regulated by caspase 3 with time-dependent clearance of iron oxide nanoparticles

Enhancing Magnetic Hyperthermia Efficacy through Targeted Heat Shock Protein 90 Inhibition: Unveiling Immune-Mediated Therapeutic Synergy in Glioma Treatment

The induction of heat stress response (HSR) mediated by the generation of heat shock proteins (HSPs) on exposure to magnetic hyperthermia-mediated cancer therapy (MHCT) decreases the efficacy of localized heat treatment at the tumor site, and thus therapy remains a significant challenge. Hence, the present study examined differential HSR elicited in glioma cells post-MHCT under different tumor microenvironment conditions (2D monolayers, 3D monoculture, and coculture spheroids) to recognize target genes that, when downregulated, could enhance the therapeutic effect of MHCT. Gene expression analysis following MHCT revealed that HSP90 was upregulated as compared to HSP70. Hence, to enhance the efficacy of the treatment, a combinatorial strategy using 17-DMAG as an inhibitor of HSP90 following MHCT was investigated. The effects of combinatorial therapy in terms of cell viability, HSP levels by immunofluorescence and gene expression analysis, oxidative stress generation, and alterations in cellular integrity were evaluated, where combinatorial therapy demonstrated an enhanced therapeutic outcome with maximum glioma cell death. Further, in the murine glioma model, a rapid tumor inhibition of 65 and 53% was observed within 8 days at the primary and secondary tumor sites, respectively, in the MCHT + 17-DMAG group, with abscopal effect-mediated complete tumor inhibition at both the tumor sites within 20 days of MHCT. The extracellularly released HSP90 from dying tumor cells further suggested the induction of immune response supported by the upregulation of IFN-γ and calreticulin genes in the MHCT + 17-DMAG group. Overall, our findings indicate that MHCT activates host immune systems and efficiently cooperates with the HSP90 blockade to inhibit the growth of distant metastatic tumors.

Development of Intratumoral Drug Delivery Based Strategies for Antitumor Therapy

Research for tumor treatment with significant therapy effects and minimal side-effects has been widely carried over the past few decades. Different drug forms have received a lot of attention. However, systemic biodistribution induces efficacy and safety issues. Intratumoral delivery of agents might overcome these problems because of its abundant tumor accumulation and retention, thereby reducing side effects. Delivering hydrogels, nanoparticles, microneedles, and microspheres drug carriers directly to tumors can realize not only targeted tumor therapy but also low side-effects. Furthermore, intratumoral administration has been integrated with treatment strategies such as chemotherapy, enhancing radiotherapy, immunotherapy, phototherapy, magnetic fluid hyperthermia, and multimodal therapy. Some of these strategies are ongoing clinical trials or applied clinically. However, many barriers hinder it from being an ideal and widely used option, such as decreased drug penetration impeded by collagen fibers of a tumor, drug squeezed out by high density and high pressure, mature intratumoral injection technique. In this review, we systematically discuss intratumoral delivery of different drug carriers and current development of intratumoral therapy strategies.

Recent Developments in Magnetic Hyperthermia Therapy (MHT) and Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI) in the Brain Tumor Field: A Scoping Review and Meta-Analysis

Magnetic hyperthermia therapy (MHT) is a promising treatment modality for brain tumors using magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) locally delivered to the tumor and activated with an external alternating magnetic field (AMF) to generate antitumor effects through localized heating. Magnetic particle imaging (MPI) is an emerging technology offering strong signal-to-noise for nanoparticle localization. A scoping review was performed by systematically querying Pubmed, Scopus, and Embase. In total, 251 articles were returned, 12 included. Articles were analyzed for nanoparticle type used, MHT parameters, and MPI applications. Preliminary results show that MHT is an exciting treatment modality with unique advantages over current heat-based therapies for brain cancer. Effective application relies on the further development of unique magnetic nanoparticle constructs and imaging modalities, such as MPI, that can enable real-time MNP imaging for improved therapeutic outcomes.

Magnetic Chitosan Bionanocomposite Films as a Versatile Platform for Biomedical Hyperthermia

Responsive magnetic nanomaterials offer significant advantages for innovative therapies, for instance, in cancer treatments that exploit on-demand delivery on alternating magnetic field (AMF) stimulus. In this work, biocompatible magnetic bionanocomposite films are fabricated from chitosan by film casting with incorporation of magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs) produced by facile one pot synthesis. The influence of synthesis conditions and MNP concentration on the films' heating efficiency and heat dissipation are evaluated through spatio-temporal mapping of the surface temperature changes by video-thermography. The cast films have a thickness below 100 µm, and upon exposure to AMF (663 kHz, 12.8 kA m-1), induce exceptionally strong heating, reaching a maximum temperature increase of 82 °C within 270 s irradiation. Further, it is demonstrated that the films can serve as substrates that supply heat for multiple hyperthermia scenarios, including: i) non-contact automated heating of cell culture medium, ii) heating of gelatine-based hydrogels of different shapes, and iii) killing of cancerous melanoma cells. The films are versatile components for non-contact stimulus with translational potential in multiple biomedical applications.

A nudge over the relaxation plateau: effect of pH, particle concentration, and medium viscosity on the AC induction heating efficiency of biocompatible chitosan-coated Fe3O4nanoparticles

The effects of pH, MNP concentration, and medium viscosity on the magnetic fluid hyperthermia (MFH) properties of chitosan-coated superparamagnetic Fe3O4nanoparticles (MNPs) are probed here. Due to the protonation of the amide groups, the MNPs are colloidally stable at lower pH (∼2), but form aggregates at higher pH (∼8). The increased aggregate size at higher pH causes the Brownian relaxation time (τB) to increase, leading to a decrease in specific absorption rate (SAR). For colloidal conditions ensuring Brownian-dominated relaxation dynamics, an increase in MNP concentrations or medium viscosity is found to increase theτB. SAR decreases with increasing MNP concentration, whereas it exhibits a non-monotonic variation with increasing medium viscosity. Dynamic hysteresis loop-based calculations are found to be in agreement with the experimental results. The findings provide a greater understanding of the variation of SAR with the colloidal properties and show the importance of relaxation dynamics on MFH efficiency, where variations in the frequency-relaxation time product across the relaxation plateau cause significant variations in SAR. Further, thein vitrocytotoxicity studies show good bio-compatibility of the chitosan-coated Fe3O4MNPs. Higher SAR at acidic pH for bio-medically acceptable field parameters makes the bio-compatible chitosan-coated Fe3O4MNPs suitable for MFH applications.

Effective myocardial infarction treatment by targeted accumulation of Sulforaphane using porous magnetic silica nanoparticles

Myocardial infarction (MI) is a common cardiovascular pathology that induces extensive sterile inflammation during its early stages, posing a severe threat to human health. Effectively modulating cardiac inflammation may improve post-MI outcomes. Unfortunately, owing to the side effects of therapeutic drugs and cardiac coronary artery occlusion, current MI drugs are sub-optimal for the clinical management of ischemic myocardia. Sulforaphane (SFN) has been adopted for MI treatment due to its myocardial protective effects and low toxicity. However, the targeted accumulation of SFN in infarcted areas remains challenging. Herein, porous magnetic silica nanoparticles (PMSNs) were synthesized and loaded with SFN to improve the specificity of targeted SFN delivery to infarcted areas in mouse models of MI. PMSNs loaded with SFN (PMSNs + SFN) decreased the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, thus leading to the improvement of cardiac function and cell survival without adverse effects. To further explore SFN's mechanisms of action in MI, a cellular (in vitro) model was established via oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD). HSF1 and Nrf2 knockdown resulted in a decrease of SFN-induced HSP70 expression in OGD cells. Moreover, as a result of HSP70 knockdown, the pro-survival and anti-inflammatory effects of SFN were blocked in OGD cells. The level of pro-inflammatory cytokines decreased upon HSP70 overexpression, and cell survival rate increased under OGD conditions. In summary, the results confirm that PMSNs are capable of transporting SFN to infarcted areas in the myocardium, where the drug exerts cardioprotective effects against myocardial injury by up-regulating HSP70 through Nrf2/HSF1.

How Magnetic Composites are Effective Anticancer Therapeutics? A Comprehensive Review of the Literature

Chemotherapy is the most prominent route in cancer therapy for prolonging the lifespan of cancer patients. However, its non-target specificity and the resulting off-target cytotoxicities have been reported. Recent in vitro and in vivo studies using magnetic nanocomposites (MNCs) for magnetothermal chemotherapy may potentially improve the therapeutic outcome by increasing the target selectivity. In this review, magnetic hyperthermia therapy and magnetic targeting using drug-loaded MNCs are revisited, focusing on magnetism, the fabrication and structures of magnetic nanoparticles, surface modifications, biocompatible coating, shape, size, and other important physicochemical properties of MNCs, along with the parameters of the hyperthermia therapy and external magnetic field. Due to the limited drug-loading capacity and low biocompatibility, the use of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) as drug delivery system has lost traction. In contrast, MNCs show higher biocompatibility, multifunctional physicochemical properties, high drug encapsulation, and multi-stages of controlled release for localized synergistic chemo-thermotherapy. Further, combining various forms of magnetic cores and pH-sensitive coating agents can generate a more robust pH, magneto, and thermo-responsive drug delivery system. Thus, MNCs are ideal candidate as smart and remotely guided drug delivery system due to a) their magneto effects and guide-ability by the external magnetic fields, b) on-demand drug release performance, and c) thermo-chemosensitization under an applied alternating magnetic field where the tumor is selectively incinerated without harming surrounding non-tumor tissues. Given the important effects of synthesis methods, surface modifications, and coating of MNCs on their anticancer properties, we reviewed the most recent studies on magnetic hyperthermia, targeted drug delivery systems in cancer therapy, and magnetothermal chemotherapy to provide insights on the current development of MNC-based anticancer nanocarrier.

Challenges and advances for glioma therapy based on inorganic nanoparticles

Glioma is one of the most serious central nervous system diseases, with high mortality and poor prognosis. Despite the continuous development of existing treatment methods, the median survival time of glioma patients is still only 15 months. The main treatment difficulties are the invasive growth of glioma and the obstruction of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) to drugs. With rapid advancements in nanotechnology, inorganic nanoparticles (INPs) have shown favourable application prospects in the diagnosis and treatment of glioma. Due to their extraordinary intrinsic features, INPs can be easily fabricated, while doping with other elements and surface modification by biological ligands can be used to enhance BBB penetration, targeted delivery and biocompatibility. Guided glioma theranostics with INPs can improve and enhance the efficacy of traditional methods such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy and gene therapy. New strategies, such as immunotherapy, photothermal and photodynamic therapy, magnetic hyperthermia therapy, and multifunctional inorganic nanoplatforms, have also been facilitated by INPs. This review emphasizes the current state of research and clinical applications of INPs, including glioma targeting and BBB penetration enhancement methods, in vivo and in vitro biocompatibility, and diagnostic and treatment strategies. As such, it provides insights for the development of novel glioma treatment strategies.

Iron oxide nanoparticles carried by probiotics for iron absorption: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

One-third of the world's population has anemia, contributing to higher morbidity and death and impaired neurological development. Conventional anemia treatment raises concerns about iron bioavailability and gastrointestinal (GI) adverse effects. This research aims to establish how iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) interact with probiotic cells and how they affect iron absorption, bioavailability, and microbiota variation.

METHODS

Pointing to the study of the literature and developing a review and critical synthesis, a robust search methodology was utilized by the authors. The literature search was performed in the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. Information was collected between January 2017 and June 2022 using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis) protocols for systematic reviews and meta-analyses. We identified 122 compatible research articles.

RESULTS

The research profile of the selected scientific articles revealed the efficacy of IONPs treatment carried by probiotics versus conventional treatment. Therefore, the authors employed content assessment on four topics to synthesize previous studies. The key subjects of the reviewed reports are the characteristics of the IONPs synthesis method, the evaluation of cell absorption and cytotoxicity of IONPs, and the transport of IONPs with probiotics in treating anemia.

CONCLUSIONS

To ensure a sufficient iron level in the enterocyte, probiotics with the capacity to attach to the gut wall transport IONPs into the enterocyte, where the maghemite nanoparticles are released.

Spatiotemporal control of engineered bacteria to express interferon-γ by focused ultrasound for tumor immunotherapy

Bacteria-based tumor therapy has recently attracted wide attentions due to its unique capability in targeting tumors and preferentially colonizing the core area of the tumor. Various therapeutic genes are also harbored into these engineering bacteria to enhance their anti-tumor efficacy. However, it is difficult to spatiotemporally control the expression of these inserted genes in the tumor site. Here, we engineer an ultrasound-responsive bacterium (URB) which can induce the expression of exogenous genes in an ultrasound-controllable manner. Owing to the advantage of ultrasound in tissue penetration, an acoustic remote control of bacterial gene expression can be realized by designing a temperature-actuated genetic switch. Cytokine interferon-γ (IFN-γ), an important immune regulatory molecule that plays a significant role in tumor immunotherapy, is used to test the system. Our results show that brief hyperthermia induced by focused ultrasound promotes the expression of IFN-γ gene, improving anti-tumor efficacy of URB in vitro and in vivo. Our study provides an alternative strategy for bacteria-mediated tumor immunotherapy.

Tailoring nanoparticles design for enhanced heating efficiency and improved magneto-chemo therapy for glioblastoma

Development of multifunctional magnetic nanomaterials (MNPs) with improved heat-generating capabilities and effective combination with localized chemotherapy has emerged as a promising therapeutic regime for solid tumors like glioblastoma. In this regard, the shape-dependent hyperthermic and chemo-therapeutic potential of nanomaterials, has not been extensively explored. Here we present, development of various morphological designs of MNPs including spherical, clusters, rods and cubic; to compare the effect of shape on tuning the properties of MNPs that are relevant to many potential biomedical applications like drug delivery, cellular uptake and heat generation. The study includes extensive comparison of morpho-structural characteristics, size distributions, chemical composition, surface area measurements and magnetic properties of the variable shaped MNPs. Further the heating efficiencies in aqueous and cellular environments and heat triggered drug release profiles for successful magneto-chemotherapy were compared among all in-house synthesized MNPs. Under biosafety limit considerations given by Hergt's limit (H*f value <5 × 10⁹ Am^-1 s^-1), cuboidal shaped MNPs demonstrated highest heating efficiency owing to magnetosome-like chain formation along with sustained drug release profile as compared to other synthesized MNPs. The mechanism of cancer cell death mediated via magneto-chemotherapy was elucidated to be the oxidative stress-mediated apoptotic cell death pathway. In vivo studies further demonstrated complete tumor regression only in the magneto-chemotherapy treated group. These findings suggest the potential of combinatorial therapy to overcome the clinical limitations of the independent therapies for advanced thermotherapy of glioblastoma.

Combination of Ablation and Immunotherapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Where We Are and Where to Go

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide and is increasing in incidence. Local ablative therapy plays a leading role in HCC treatment. Radiofrequency (RFA) is one of the first-line therapies for early local ablation. Other local ablation techniques (e.g., microwave ablation, cryoablation, irreversible electroporation, phototherapy.) have been extensively explored in clinical trials or cell/animal studies but have not yet been established as a standard treatment or applied clinically. On the one hand, single treatment may not meet the needs. On the other hand, ablative therapy can stimulate local and systemic immune effects. The combination strategy of immunotherapy and ablation is reasonable. In this review, we briefly summarized the current status and progress of ablation and immunotherapy for HCC. The immune effects of local ablation and the strategies of combination therapy, especially synergistic strategies based on biomedical materials, were discussed. This review is hoped to provide references for future researches on ablative immunotherapy to arrive to a promising new era of HCC treatment.

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles for magnetic hyperthermia: Recent advancements, molecular effects, and future directions in the omics era

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles have attracted attention in the biomedical field thanks to their ability to prompt hyperthermia in response to an alternated magnetic field. Hyperthermia is well-known for inducing...

Computational Modeling of Combination of Magnetic Hyperthermia and Temperature-Sensitive Liposome for Controlled Drug Release in Solid Tumor

Combination therapy, a treatment modality that combines two or more therapeutic methods, provides a novel pathway for cancer treatment, as it targets the region of interest (ROI) in a characteristically synergistic or additive manner. To date, liposomes are the only nano-drug delivery platforms that have been used in clinical trials. Here, we speculated that it could be promising to improve treatment efficacy and reduce side effects by intravenous administration of thermo-sensitive liposomes loaded with doxorubicin (TSL-Dox) during magnetic hyperthermia (MHT). A multi-scale computational model using the finite element method was developed to simulate both MHT and temperature-sensitive liposome (TSL) delivery to a solid tumor to obtain spatial drug concentration maps and temperature profiles. The results showed that the killing rate of MHT alone was about 15%, which increased to 50% using the suggested combination therapy. The results also revealed that this combination treatment increased the fraction of killed cells (FKCs) inside the tumor compared to conventional chemotherapy by 15% in addition to reducing side effects. Furthermore, the impacts of vessel wall pore size, the time interval between TSL delivery and MHT, and the initial dose of TSLs were also investigated. A considerable reduction in drug accumulation was observed in the tumor by decreasing the vessel wall pore size of the tumor. The results also revealed that the treatment procedure plays an essential role in the therapeutic potential of anti-cancer drugs. The results suggest that the administration of MHT can be beneficial in the TSL delivery system and that it can be employed as a guideline for upcoming preclinical studies.

Magnetic nanoparticles and clusters for magnetic hyperthermia: optimizing their heat performance and developing combinatorial therapies to tackle cancer

Magnetic hyperthermia (MHT) is a therapeutic modality for the treatment of solid tumors that has now accumulated more than 30 years of experience. In the ongoing MHT clinical trials for the treatment of brain and prostate tumors, iron oxide nanoparticles are employed as intra-tumoral MHT agents under a patient-safe 100 kHz alternating magnetic field (AMF) applicator. Although iron oxide nanoparticles are currently approved by FDA for imaging purposes and for the treatment of anemia, magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) designed for the efficient treatment of MHT must respond to specific physical-chemical properties in terms of magneto-energy conversion, heat dose production, surface chemistry and aggregation state. Accordingly, in the past few decades, these requirements have boosted the development of a new generation of MNPs specifically aimed for MHT. In this review, we present an overview on MNPs and their assemblies produced via different synthetic routes, focusing on which MNP features have allowed unprecedented heating efficiency levels to be achieved in MHT and highlighting nanoplatforms that prevent magnetic heat loss in the intracellular environment. Moreover, we review the advances on MNP-based nanoplatforms that embrace the concept of multimodal therapy, which aims to combine MHT with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, photodynamic or phototherapy. Next, for a better control of the therapeutic temperature at the tumor, we focus on the studies that have optimized MNPs to maintain gold-standard MHT performance and are also tackling MNP imaging with the aim to quantitatively assess the amount of nanoparticles accumulated at the tumor site and regulate the MHT field conditions. To conclude, future perspectives with guidance on how to advance MHT therapy will be provided.

Viability inhibition of A375 melanoma cellsin vitroby a high-frequency nanosecond-pulsed magnetic field combined with targeted iron oxide nanoparticles via membrane magnetoporation

Poor efficacy and low electrical safety are issues in the treatment of tumours with pulsed magnetic fields (PMFs). Based on the cumulative effect of high-frequency pulses and the enhanced perforation effect of targeted nanoparticles, this article proposes for the first time a new method that combines high-frequency nanosecond-pulsed magnetic fields (nsPMFs) with folic acid-superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs-FA) to kill tumour cells. After determining the safe concentration of the targeted iron oxide nanoparticles, CCK-8 reagent was used to detect the changes in cell viability after utilising the combined method. After that, PI macromolecular dyes were used to stain the cells. Then, the state of the cell membrane was observed by scanning electron microscopy, and other methods were applied to study the cell membrane permeability changes after the combined treatment of the cells. It was finally confirmed that the high-frequency PMF can significantly reduce cell viability through the cumulative effect. In addition, the targeted iron oxide nanoparticles can reduce the magnetic field amplitude and the number of pulses required for the high-frequency PMF to kill tumour cellsin vitrothrough magnetoporation. The objective of this research is to improve the electrical safety of the PMF with the use of nsPMFs for the safe, efficient and low-intensity treatment of tumours.

(Carboxymethyl-stevioside)-coated magnetic dots for enhanced magnetic hyperthermia and improved glioblastoma treatment

The use of different types of biomaterials as surfactant moities has a defined role in magnetic hyperthermia-mediated cancer therapy (MHCT). In this work, we present carboxymethyl-stevioside (CMS)-modified magnetic dots (MDs) as efficient magnetic hyperthermia agents for glioma therapy. The synthesized MDs with CMS biosurfactant coating exhibited significant water stability that resulted in a remarkable specific absorption rate of 209.25 W/g on application of alternating magnetic field of strength 359 kHz and 188 Oe. The MDs further demonstrated significant anti-migratory and anti-invasive effect on glioma C6 cells by inhibiting the gene expression of matrix metalloproteinases-2 and -9. The effect of immediate and long term hyperthermia treatment was then evaluated after repetitive exposure to hyperthermia, in terms of glioma cell viability, the effect of treatment on cell morphology, the cell cycle distribution and oxidative stress generation. The results obtained suggest the promising potential of CMS-modified nano-heaters for excellent magnetic hyperthermia-mediated glioma therapy.

The Heating Efficiency and Imaging Performance of Magnesium Iron Oxide@tetramethyl Ammonium Hydroxide Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications

Multifunctional magnetic nanomaterials displaying high specific loss power (SLP) and high imaging sensitivity with good spatial resolution are highly desired in image-guided cancer therapy. Currently, commercial nanoparticles do not sufficiently provide such multifunctionality. For example, Resovist® has good image resolution but with a low SLP, whereas BNF® has a high SLP value with very low image resolution. In this study, hydrophilic magnesium iron oxide@tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide nanoparticles were prepared in two steps. First, hydrophobic magnesium iron oxide nanoparticles were fabricated using a thermal decomposition technique, followed by coating with tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized using XRD, DLS, TEM, zeta potential, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and VSM. The hyperthermia and imaging properties of the prepared nanoparticles were investigated and compared to the commercial nanoparticles. One-dimensional magnetic particle imaging indicated the good imaging resolution of our nanoparticles. Under the application of a magnetic field of frequency 614.4 kHz and strength 9.5 kA/m, nanoparticles generated heat with an SLP of 216.18 W/g, which is much higher than that of BNF (14 W/g). Thus, the prepared nanoparticles show promise as a novel dual-functional magnetic nanomaterial, enabling both high performance for hyperthermia and imaging functionality for diagnostic and therapeutic processes.