The High Radiosensitizing Efficiency of a Trace of Gadolinium-Based Nanoparticles in Tumors

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 6; no. 1; p. 29678
• Main Authors: Dufort, Sandrine, Le Duc, Géraldine, Salomé, Murielle, Bentivegna, Valerie, Sancey, Lucie, Bräuer-Krisch, Elke, Requardt, Herwig, Lux, François, Coll, Jean-Luc, Perriat, Pascal, Roux, Stéphane, Tillement, Olivier
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 14.07.2016; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 59; 639/925; 639/925/352; Animals; Biodistribution; Bioengineering; Blood vessels; Cancer; Cell Line; Chemical Sciences; Contrast agents; Contrast Media - administration & dosage; Gadolinium; Gadolinium - administration & dosage; Gadolinium oxide; Gliosarcoma - radiotherapy; Humanities and Social Sciences; Imaging; Injection; Irradiation; Life Sciences; Magnetic resonance imaging; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Male; Medical Physics; multidisciplinary; Nanoparticles; Nanoparticles - administration & dosage; Physics; Radiation therapy; Radiation-Sensitizing Agents - administration & dosage; Rats; Rats, Inbred F344; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Tumors; X-ray fluorescence; X-Rays
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/srep29678

We recently developed the synthesis of ultrasmall gadolinium-based nanoparticles (GBN), (hydrodynamic diameter <5 nm) characterized by a safe behavior after intravenous injection (renal clearance, preferential accumulation in tumors). Owing to the presence of gadolinium ions, GBN can be used as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and as radiosensitizers. The attempt to determine the most opportune delay between the intravenous injection of GBN and the irradiation showed that a very low content of radiosensitizing nanoparticles in the tumor area is sufficient (0.1 μg/g of particles, i.e. 15 ppb of gadolinium) for an important increase of the therapeutic effect of irradiation. Such a promising and unexpected result is assigned to a suited distribution of GBN within the tumor, as revealed by the X-ray fluorescence (XRF) maps.