Improving proton therapy by metal-containing nanoparticles: Nanoscale insights

Thomas Schlathölter, Pierre Eustache, Erika Porcel, Daniela Salado, Lenka Stefancikova, Olivier Tillement, Francois Lux, Pierre Mowat, Aleksandra Biegun, Marc-Jan van Goethem, Hynd Remita, Sandrine Lacombe

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

57 Citations (Scopus)
334 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The use of nanoparticles to enhance the effect of radiation-based cancer treatments is a growing field of study and recently, even nanoparticle-induced improvement of proton therapy performance has been investigated. Aiming at a clinical implementation of this approach, it is essential to characterize the mechanisms underlying the synergistic effects of nanoparticles combined with proton irradiation. In this study, we investigated the effect of platinum- and gadolinium-based nanoparticles on the nanoscale damage induced by a proton beam of therapeutically relevant energy (150 MeV) using plasmid DNA molecular probe. Two conditions of irradiation (0.44 and 3.6 keV/mu m) were considered to mimic the beam properties at the entrance and at the end of the proton track. We demonstrate that the two metal-containing nanoparticles amplify, in particular, the induction of nanosize damages (>2 nm) which are most lethal for cells. More importantly, this effect is even more pronounced at the end of the proton track. This work gives a new insight into the underlying mechanisms on the nanoscale and indicates that the addition of metal-based nanoparticles is a promising strategy not only to increase the cell killing action of fast protons, but also to improve tumor targeting.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1549-1556
Number of pages8
JournalInternational Journal of Nanomedicine
Volume2016
Issue number11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15-Apr-2016

Keywords

  • gadolinium-based nanoparticles
  • platinum nanoparticles
  • nanosensitization
  • theranostics
  • GADOLINIUM-BASED NANOPARTICLES
  • PLATINUM-CONTAINING MOLECULES
  • FAST ATOMIC IONS
  • GOLD NANOPARTICLES
  • X-RAY
  • CANCER
  • HADRONTHERAPY
  • MECHANISM
  • CELLS

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