Experimental assessment of gold nanoparticle-mediated dose enhancement in radiation therapy beams using electron spin resonance dosimetry

XMEA: A New Hybrid Diamond Multielectrode Array for the In Situ Assessment of the Radiation Dose Enhancement by Nanoparticles

This work presents a novel multielectrode array (MEA) to quantitatively assess the dose enhancement factor (DEF) produced in a medium by embedded nanoparticles. The MEA has 16 nanocrystalline diamond electrodes (in a cell-culture well), and a single-crystal diamond divided into four quadrants for X-ray dosimetry. DEF was assessed in water solutions with up to a 1000 µg/mL concentration of silver, platinum, and gold nanoparticles. The X-ray detectors showed a linear response to radiation dose (r2 ≥ 0.9999). Overall, platinum and gold nanoparticles produced a dose enhancement in the medium (maximum of 1.9 and 3.1, respectively), while silver nanoparticles produced a shielding effect (maximum of 37%), lowering the dose in the medium. This work shows that the novel MEA can be a useful tool in the quantitative assessment of radiation dose enhancement due to nanoparticles. Together with its suitability for cells' exocytosis studies, it proves to be a highly versatile device for several applications.

Review of nanomaterial advances for ionizing radiation dosimetry

There are a wide range of applications with ionizing radiation and a common theme throughout these is that accurate dosimetry is usually required, although many newer demands are provided by improved features in higher range, multi-spectral and particle type detected. Today, the array of dosimeters includes both offline and online tools, such as gel dosimeters, thermoluminescence (TL), scintillators, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), radiochromic polymeric films, gels, ionization chambers, colorimetry, and electron spin resonance (ESR) measurement systems. Several future nanocomposite features and interpretation of their substantial behaviors are discussed that can lead to improvements in specific features, such as (1) lower sensitivity range, (2) less saturation at high range, (3) overall increased dynamic range, (4) superior linearity, (5) linear energy transfer and energy independence, (6) lower cost, (7) higher ease of use, and (8) improved tissue equivalence. Nanophase versions of TL and ESR dosimeters and scintillators each have potential for higher range of linearity, sometimes due to superior charge transfer to the trapping center. Both OSL and ESR detection of nanomaterials can have increased dose sensitivity because of their higher readout sensitivity with nanoscale sensing. New nanocrystalline scintillators, such as perovskite, have fundamentally important advantages in sensitivity and purposeful design for key new applications. Nanoparticle plasmon coupled sensors doped within a lower Zeff material have been an effective way to achieve enhanced sensitivity of many dosimetry systems while still achieving tissue equivalency. These nanomaterial processing techniques and unique combinations of them are key steps that lead to the advanced features. Each must be realized through industrial production and quality control with packaging into dosimetry systems that maximize stability and reproducibility. Ultimately, recommendations for future work in this field of radiation dosimetry were summarized throughout the review.

Gold-Nanoparticles-Enhanced Production of Reactive Oxygen Species in Cells at Spread-Out Bragg Peak under Proton Beam Radiation

This study investigates the radiobiological effects of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) as radiosensitizers for proton beam therapy (PBT). Specifically, we explore the enhanced production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in GNP-loaded tumor cells irradiated by a 230 MeV proton beam in a spread-out Bragg peak (SOBP) zone obtained by a passive scattering system. Our findings indicate that the radiosensitization enhancement factor is 1.24 at 30% cell survival fraction, 8 days after 6 Gy proton beam irradiation. Since protons deposit the majority of their energy at the SOBP region and interact with GNPs to induce more ejected electrons from the high-Z GNPs, these ejected electrons then react with water molecules to produce excessive ROS that can damage cellular organelles. Laser scanning confocal microscopy reveals the excessive ROS induced inside the GNP-loaded cells immediately after proton irradiation. Furthermore, the damage to cytoskeletons and mitochondrial dysfunction in GNP-loaded cells caused by the induced ROS becomes significantly severe, 48 h after proton irradiation. Our biological evidence suggests that the cytotoxicity of GNP-enhanced ROS production has the potential to increase the tumoricidal efficacy of PBT.

Gold Nanoparticles Enhancing Generation of ROS for Cs-137 Radiotherapy

Radiotherapy is an important modality for the treatment of cancer, e.g., X-ray, Cs-137 γ-ray (peak energy: 662 keV). An important therapy pathway of radiation is to generate the double strand breaks of DNA to prohibit the proliferation of cancer cells. In addition, the excessive amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is induced to damage the organelles, which can cause cellular apoptosis or necrosis. Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) have been proven potential as a radiosensitizer due to the high biocompatibility, the low cytotoxicity and the high-Z property (Z = 79) of gold. The latter property may allow GNPs to induce more secondary electrons for generating ROS in cells as irradiated by high-energy photons. In this paper, the radiobiological effects on A431 cells with uptake of 55-nm GNPs were studied to investigate the GNPs-enhanced production of ROS on these cells as irradiated by Cs-137 γ-ray. The fluorescence-labeling image of laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) shows the excessive expression of ROS in these GNPs-uptake cells after irradiation. And then, the follow-up disruption of cytoskeletons and dysfunction of mitochondria caused by the induced ROS are observed. From the curves of cell survival fraction versus the radiation dose, the radiosensitization enhancement factor of GNPs is 1.29 at a survival fraction of 30%. This demonstrates that the tumoricidal efficacy of Cs-137 radiation can be significantly raised by GNPs. Because of facilitating the production of excessive ROS to damage tumor cells, GNPs are proven to be a prospective radiosensitizer for radiotherapy, particularly for the treatment of certain radioresistant tumor cells. Through this pathway, the tumoricidal efficacy of radiotherapy can be raised.

Microdosimetric and radiobiological effects of gold nanoparticles at therapeutic radiation energies

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to quantify the microscopic dose distribution surrounding gold nanoparticles (GNPs) irradiated at therapeutic energies and to measure the changes in cell survival in vitro caused by this dose enhancement.

METHODS

The dose distributions from secondary electrons surrounding a single gold nanosphere and single gold nanocube of equal volume were both simulated using MCNP6. Dose enhancement factors (DEFs) in the 1 μm3 volume surrounding a GNP were calculated and compared between a nanosphere and nanocube and between 6 and 18 MV energies. This microscopic effect was explored further by experimentally measuring the cell survival of C-33a cervical cancer cells irradiated at 18 MV with varying doses of energy and concentrations of GNPs. Survival of cells receiving no irradiation, a 3 Gy dose, and a 6 Gy dose of 18 MV energy were determined for each concentration of GNPs.

RESULTS

It was observed that the dose from electrons surrounding the gold nanocube surpasses that of a gold nanosphere up to a distance of 1.1 μm by 18.5% for the 18 MV energy spectrum and by 23.1% for the 6 MV spectrum. DEFs ranging from ∼2 to 8 were found, with the maximum DEF resulting from the case of the gold nanocube irradiated at 6 MV energy. Experimentally, for irradiation at 18 MV, incubating cells with 6 nM (0.10% gold by mass) GNPs produces an average 6.7% decrease in cell survival, and incubating cells with 9 nM (0.15% gold by mass) GNPs produces an average 14.6% decrease in cell survival, as compared to cells incubated and irradiated without GNPs.

CONCLUSION

We have successfully demonstrated the potential radiation dose enhancing effects in vitro and microdosimetrically from gold nanoparticles.

Dose enhancement factor caused by gold nanoparticles: influence of the dosimetric sensitivity and radiation dose assessed by electron spin resonance dosimetry

Gold nanoparticles have been extensively used to increase the sensitivity of radiation dosimeters. In this work, nanocomposites of alanine (Ala), 2-methylalanine (2MA), asparagine (Asn) and monosodium glutamate (MSG) containing gold nanoparticles were prepared. The influence of the mass percentage of gold (0.1% up to 3%), absorbed dose (2 Gy-10 kGy) and the intrinsic sensitivity of these materials on the dose enhancement factor (DEF) were investigated. The prepared nanocomposites were characterized by UV-vis absorption spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering technique. Electron spin resonance spectroscopy was employed to assess the dosimetric response. The results revealed that the gold nanoparticles aggregated in the nanocomposites of MSG and Asn but not in the Ala and 2MA samples. Higher DEFs were observed for materials with lower intrinsic sensitivities (Asn and MSG) and for lower doses of radiation, suggesting that the dosimetric response of the nanocomposite dosimeters is governed by the probability of radical recombination. The higher the radiation dose, gold mass percentage and/or intrinsic sensitivity of the dosimetric material, the higher the production of radiation-induced free-radicals, enhancing the probability of radical recombination and resulting in lower DEFs. These results bring new insights about the use of gold nanoparticles to the construction of more sensitive radiation dosimeters.