Mineral Nanomedicine to Enhance the Efficacy of Adjuvant Radiotherapy for Treating Osteosarcoma.

It is vital to remove residual tumor cells after resection to avoid the recurrence and metastasis of osteosarcoma. In this study, a mineral nanomedicine, europium-doped calcium fluoride (CaF2:Eu) nanoparticles (NPs), is developed to enhance the efficacy of adjuvant radiotherapy (i.e., surgical resection followed by radiotherapy) for tumor cell growth and metastasis of osteosarcoma. In vitro studies show that CaF2:Eu NPs (200 µg/mL) exert osteosarcoma cell (143B)-selective toxicity and migration-inhibiting effects at a Eu dopant amount of 2.95 atomic weight percentage. These effects are further enhanced under X-ray irradiation (6 MeV, 4 Gy). Furthermore, in vivo tests show that intraosseous injection of CaF2:Eu NPs and X-ray irradiation have satisfactory therapeutic efficacy in controlling primary tumor size and inhibiting primary tumor metastasis. Overall, our results suggest that CaF2:Eu NPs with their osteosarcoma cell (143B)-selective toxicity and migration-inhibiting effects combined with radiotherapy might be nanomedicines for treating osteosarcoma after tumor resection.

Covalent bridging of surface functionalized Fe3O4 and YPO4:Eu nanostructures for simultaneous imaging and therapy.

Magnetic luminescent hybrid nanostructures (MLHN) have received a great deal of attention due to their potential biomedical applications such as thermal therapy, magnetic resonance imaging, drug delivery and intracellular imaging. We report the development of bifunctional Fe3O4 decorated YPO4:Eu hybrid nanostructures by covalent bridging of carboxyl PEGylated Fe3O4 and amine functionalized YPO4:Eu particles. The surface functionalization of individual nanoparticulates as well as their successful conjugation was evident from Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), zeta-potential and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis reveals the formation of highly crystalline hybrid nanostructures. TEM micrographs clearly show the binding/anchoring of 10 nm Fe3O4 nanoparticles onto the surface of 100-150 nm rice grain shaped YPO4:Eu nanostructures. These MLHN show good colloidal stability, magnetic field responsivity and self-heating capacity under an external AC magnetic field. The induction heating studies confirmed localized heating of MLHN under an AC magnetic field with a high specific absorption rate. Photoluminescence spectroscopy and fluorescence microscopy results show optical imaging capability of MLHN. Furthermore, successful internalization of these MLHN in the cells and their cellular imaging ability are confirmed from confocal microscopy imaging. Specifically, the hybrid nanostructure provides an excellent platform to integrate luminescent and magnetic materials into one single entity that can be used as a potential tool for hyperthermia treatment of cancer and cellular imaging.

Mesoporous europo-gadolinosilicate nanoparticles as bimodal medical imaging agents and a potential theranostic platform.

The mesoporous structure of sol-gel prepared gadolinium and europium doped silicate nanoparticles has been found to be highly dependent on the formulated composition, with synthesised samples displaying both disordered and hexagonally ordered mesoporous packing symmetry. The degree of pore ordering within the nanoparticles has a strong correlation with the total lanthanide (Gd(3+) and Eu(3+) ) concentration. The gadolinosilicates are excellent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) longitudinal (T1 ) agents. The longitudinal relaxivity (r1 ) and transverse (r2 ) relaxivity, a measure of MRI contrast agent efficiency, were up to four times higher than the clinically employed Omniscan (gadodiamide); with r1 up to 20.6 s(-1) mM(-1) and r2 of 66.2 s(-1) mM(-1) compared to 5.53 and 4.64 s(-1) mM(-1) , respectively, for Omniscan. In addition, the europium content of all the samples studied is below the self-quenching limit, which results in a strong luminescence response from the nanoparticles on excitation at 250 nm. The Eu-Gd silicate nanoparticles act as bimodal imaging agents for MRI and luminescence. These mesoporous nanoparticles also have the potential to serve as encapsulation and controlled release matrices for pharmaceuticals. They are therefore a promising multimodal theranostic platform.

A multifunctional biphasic suspension of mesoporous silica encapsulated with YVO4:Eu3+ and Fe3O4 nanoparticles: synergistic effect towards cancer therapy and imaging.

Polyol mediated synthesized luminescent YVO(4):Eu(3+) nanoparticles (NPs) have been encapsulated in mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) using the sol-gel process. X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy along with transmission electron microscopy confirm the encapsulation of the YVO(4):Eu(3+) NPs in the SiO(2) matrix. N(2) adsorption/desorption analysis confirms the mesoporous nature of the MSNs and YVO(4):Eu(3+)-MSNs. No significant quenching of the YVO(4):Eu(3+) luminescence is observed for YVO(4):Eu(3+)-MSNs. This nanocomposite has been tested as a potential drug carrier. Efficient loading of doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX), a typical anticancer drug, is observed which reaches up to 93% in 8 mg ml(-1) of YVO(4):Eu(3+)-MSNs. pH sensitive release of DOX is observed, with 54% release for pH 4.3 and 31% in a physiological environment (pH 7.4). Both MSNs and YVO(4):Eu(3+)-MSNs nanocomposites do not show accountable toxicity to two cell lines, i.e. HeLa and MCF-7. However, as desired, toxicity is observed when cells are incubated with DOX loaded YVO(4):Eu(3+)-MSNs. Laser scanning confocal microscopy images confirm the uptake of the nanocomposite in both cell lines. The morphology of the cells (MCF-7) changes after incubation with DOX loaded YVO(4):Eu(3+)-MSNs, indicating an interaction of DOX with the cells. More cytotoxicity to both cell lines with ∼90% killing is observed due to the synergistic effect of magnetic fluid hyperthermia and chemotherapy using a biphasic suspension of superparamagnetic iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles and DOX loaded YVO(4):Eu(3+)-MSNs. In addition, an AC magnetic field triggers an enhanced drug release.

Europium-152 as a potential substitute for cobalt-60 in radiation therapy.

Construction has begun of prototype europium-152 sources, with the principal goal of providing cost-effective teletherapy for emergent nations where prices for cobalt-60 are excessive, owing to replacement needs, and the use of linacs is economically prohibitive and technologically unfeasible. 152Eu sources (T1/2 = 13.4y vs T1/2 = 5.26y for 60Co) are designed for absorbed dose rates > 1.5 Gy/min at 1 m, with specific activities > 5 TBq/gm, allowing substitution into existing irradiators. Costs of 152Eu compare favorably with 60Co, taking account of extended useful lifetime.