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Nanoparticles in Medical Radiations

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2022) | Viewed by 8790

Special Issue Editor

Discipline of Medical Radiations, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Bundoora, VIC 3083, Australia
Interests: nanoparticles; radiation; radiotherapy; radiology; dose; radio-sensitisation; ionising radiations; theranostic; radiobiology; non-ionising radiation
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Radiation is applied in medicine in two forms, namely diagnosis “radiology” and treatment “radiotherapy”, with both ionising (X-rays, gamma rays and particles) and non-ionising radiation (ultrasound, ultraviolet and infrared spectrum) techniques playing significant roles in disease determination and treatment.

Over the last 25 years, the use of nanoparticles in medical radiation techniques has grown significantly. Materials present in the nanoparticle form exhibit different properties and characteristics to the “bulk” form. Gold nanoparticles have been successfully used as imaging contrasting agents to improve image quality. Additionally, they have most significantly been used as radiation dose enhancers or “radiosensitisers”, capable of increasing the dose deposited by a clinical radiotherapy beam to a cancerous tumour when present, hence increasing the radiotherapy beam’s “killing potential”. Synergistically, these two properties make gold nanoparticles potential theranostic agents able to image and provide therapeutic benefit to cancer treatments.

Understanding the properties of both nanoparticles and the cellular target (molecularly and biologically) is crucial in the advancement of the current applications of nanoparticles and radiation in modern medicine. Therefore, this issue will consider for publication any work involving nanomaterials (either organic or metallic) in medical radiation, including studies of image quality, radiotherapy and radiobiology, in the hopes of highlighting the ongoing efforts in this field.

Prof. Dr. Moshi Geso
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • nanoparticles
  • radiation
  • radiotherapy
  • radiology
  • dose
  • radio-sensitisation
  • ionising radiation
  • theranostic
  • radiobiology
  • non-ionising radiation

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 2959 KiB  
Article
Oxidative Damage to Mitochondria Enhanced by Ionising Radiation and Gold Nanoparticles in Cancer Cells
by Farnaz Tabatabaie, Rick Franich, Bryce Feltis and Moshi Geso
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(13), 6887; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23136887 - 21 Jun 2022
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 3123
Abstract
Gold nanoparticles (AuNP) can increase the efficacy of radiation therapy by sensitising tumor cells to radiation damage. When used in combination with radiation, AuNPs enhance the rate of cell killing; hence, they may be of great value in radiotherapy. This study assessed the [...] Read more.
Gold nanoparticles (AuNP) can increase the efficacy of radiation therapy by sensitising tumor cells to radiation damage. When used in combination with radiation, AuNPs enhance the rate of cell killing; hence, they may be of great value in radiotherapy. This study assessed the effects of radiation and AuNPs on mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in cancer cells as an adjunct therapeutic target in addition to the DNA of the cell. Mitochondria are considered one of the primary sources of cellular ROS. High levels of ROS can result in an intracellular state of oxidative stress, leading to permanent cell damage. In this study, human melanoma and prostate cancer cell lines, with and without AuNPs, were irradiated with 6-Megavolt X-rays at doses of 0–8 Gy. Indicators of mitochondrial stress were quantified using two techniques, and were found to be significantly increased by the inclusion of AuNPs in both cell lines. Radiobiological damage to mitochondria was quantified via increased ROS activity. The ROS production by mitochondria in cells was enhanced by the inclusion of AuNPs, peaking at ~4 Gy and then decreasing at higher doses. This increased mitochondrial stress may lead to more effectively kill of AuNP-treated cells, further enhancing the applicability of functionally-guided nanoparticles. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanoparticles in Medical Radiations)
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14 pages, 1596 KiB  
Article
Differential Effects of Gold Nanoparticles and Ionizing Radiation on Cell Motility between Primary Human Colonic and Melanocytic Cells and Their Cancerous Counterparts
by Elham Shahhoseini, Masao Nakayama, Terrence J. Piva and Moshi Geso
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(3), 1418; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22031418 - 31 Jan 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2406
Abstract
This study examined the effects of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and/or ionizing radiation (IR) on the viability and motility of human primary colon epithelial (CCD841) and colorectal adenocarcinoma (SW48) cells as well as human primary epidermal melanocytes (HEM) and melanoma (MM418-C1) cells. AuNPs up [...] Read more.
This study examined the effects of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and/or ionizing radiation (IR) on the viability and motility of human primary colon epithelial (CCD841) and colorectal adenocarcinoma (SW48) cells as well as human primary epidermal melanocytes (HEM) and melanoma (MM418-C1) cells. AuNPs up to 4 mM had no effect on the viability of these cell lines. The viability of the cancer cells was ~60% following exposure to 5 Gy. Exposure to 5 Gy X-rays or 1 mM AuNPs showed the migration of the cancer cells ~85% that of untreated controls, while co-treatment with AuNPs and IR decreased migration to ~60%. In the non-cancerous cell lines gap closure was enhanced by ~15% following 1 mM AuNPs or 5 Gy treatment, while for co-treatment it was ~22% greater than that for the untreated controls. AuNPs had no effect on cell re-adhesion, while IR enhanced only the re-adhesion of the cancer cell lines but not their non-cancerous counterparts. The addition of AuNPs did not enhance cell adherence. This different reaction to AuNPs and IR in the cancer and normal cells can be attributed to radiation-induced adhesiveness and metabolic differences between tumour cells and their non-cancerous counterparts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanoparticles in Medical Radiations)
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Review

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21 pages, 2015 KiB  
Review
Design Principles of Hybrid Nanomaterials for Radiotherapy Enhanced by Photodynamic Therapy
by Valeria Secchi, Angelo Monguzzi and Irene Villa
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(15), 8736; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23158736 - 5 Aug 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2546
Abstract
Radiation (RT) remains the most frequently used treatment against cancer. The main limitation of RT is its lack of specificity for cancer tissues and the limited maximum radiation dose that can be safely delivered without damaging the surrounding healthy tissues. A step forward [...] Read more.
Radiation (RT) remains the most frequently used treatment against cancer. The main limitation of RT is its lack of specificity for cancer tissues and the limited maximum radiation dose that can be safely delivered without damaging the surrounding healthy tissues. A step forward in the development of better RT is achieved by coupling it with other treatments, such as photodynamic therapy (PDT). PDT is an anti-cancer therapy that relies on the light activation of non-toxic molecules—called photosensitizers—to generate ROS such as singlet oxygen. By conjugating photosensitizers to dense nanoscintillators in hybrid architectures, the PDT could be activated during RT, leading to cell death through an additional pathway with respect to the one activated by RT alone. Therefore, combining RT and PDT can lead to a synergistic enhancement of the overall efficacy of RT. However, the involvement of hybrids in combination with ionizing radiation is not trivial: the comprehension of the relationship among RT, scintillation emission of the nanoscintillator, and therapeutic effects of the locally excited photosensitizers is desirable to optimize the design of the hybrid nanoparticles for improved effects in radio-oncology. Here, we discuss the working principles of the PDT-activated RT methods, pointing out the guidelines for the development of effective coadjutants to be tested in clinics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanoparticles in Medical Radiations)
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