Green One-Step Synthesis of Medical Nanoagents for Advanced Radiation Therapy

• Published in: Nanotechnology, science and applications Vol. 13; pp. 61 - 76
• Main Authors: Salado-Leza, Daniela, Porcel, Erika, Yang, Xiaomin, Štefančíková, Lenka, Bolsa-Ferruz, Marta, Savina, Farah, Dragoe, Diana, Guerquin-Kern, Jean-Luc, Wu, Ting-Di, Hirayama, Ryoichi, Remita, Hynd, Lacombe, Sandrine
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New Zealand Dove Medical Press Limited 01.01.2020; Taylor & Francis Ltd; Dove Medical Press; Dove
• Subjects: Amplification; Biocompatibility; Cancer therapies; Carbon; Charged particles; Chemical Sciences; Chemical synthesis; Drug dosages; Efficiency; environmentally-friendly process; Ethylene glycols; Fourier transforms; Gamma rays; Green market; Ion beams; Ionizing radiation; nanomedicine; Nanoparticles; Nanostructured materials; Original Research; Physics; Platinum; platinum nanoparticles; Polyethylene glycol; Radiation (Physics); Radiation therapy; Radiolysis; radiolytic method; Radiotherapy; Spectrum analysis; Toxic wastes; Toxicity; X-rays; France; radiolytic method; platinum nanoparticles; radiotherapy; nanomedicine; environmentally-friendly process
• ISSN: 1177-8903; 1177-8903
• DOI: 10.2147/nsa.s257392

Metal-based nanoparticles (M-NPs) have attracted great attention in nanomedicine due to their capacity to amplify and improve the tumor targeting of medical beams. However, their simple, efficient, high-yield and reproducible production remains a challenge. Currently, M-NPs are mainly synthesized by chemical methods or radiolysis using toxic reactants. The waste of time, loss of material and potential environmental hazards are major limitations. This work proposes a simple, fast and green strategy to synthesize small, non-toxic and stable NPs in water with a 100% production rate. Ionizing radiation is used to simultaneously synthesize and sterilize the containing NPs solutions. The synthesis of platinum nanoparticles (Pt NPs) coated with biocompatible poly(ethylene glycol) ligands (PEG) is presented as proof of concept. The physicochemical properties of NPs were studied by complementary specialized techniques. Their toxicity and radio-enhancing properties were evaluated in a cancerous in vitro model. Using plasmid nanoprobes, we investigated the elementary mechanisms underpinning radio-enhancement. Pt NPs showed nearly spherical-like shapes and an average hydrodynamic diameter of 9 nm. NPs are zero-valent platinum successfully coated with PEG. They were found non-toxic and have the singular property of amplifying cell killing induced by γ-rays (14%) and even more, the effects of carbon ions (44%) used in particle therapy. They induce nanosized-molecular damage, which is a major finding to potentially implement this protocol in treatment planning simulations. This new eco-friendly, fast and simple proposed method opens a new era of engineering water-soluble biocompatible NPs and boosts the development of NP-aided radiation therapies.