Nanoparticle based induction heating at low magnitudes of magnetic field strengths for breast cancer therapy

Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jmmm.2019.03.117

Magnetic hyperthermia has received much attention during the last decade due to its implementation in cancer treatment. Recently, functionalized superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION) emerged as a strong alternative adjuvant treatment approach, which complements conventional methods such as chemotherapy. In this study, we demonstrate the anticancer effect of Poly(acrylic acid)-coated, anti-HER2-tagged SPIONs on breast cancer cells using a low magnetic field strength of 0.8 kAm−1, which is significantly lower compared to the literature, with a frequency of 400 kHz. Specificity was achieved via anti-HER2 antibody attachment to nanoparticles. HER2-positive SKBR3 and MDA-MB-453 cell lines internalized the nanoparticles successfully. These nanoparticles, which were not toxic to these cell lines, led to a prominent decrease in cell proliferation and survival in MDA-MB-453 cells when subjected to hyperthermia. Therefore, the hyperthermia-targeted SPION approach could be developed as a potential cancer treatment approach against breast cancer and possible other cancer types.