Coating of Magnetite Nanoparticles with Fucoidan to Enhance Magnetic Hyperthermia Efficiency
Joana Gonçalves,
Cláudia Nunes,
Liliana Ferreira,
Maria Margarida Cruz,
Helena Oliveira,
Verónica Bastos,
Álvaro Mayoral,
Qing Zhang,
Paula Ferreira
Affiliations
Joana Gonçalves
CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, Department of Materials and Ceramic Engineering, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Cláudia Nunes
CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, Department of Materials and Ceramic Engineering, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Liliana Ferreira
Physics Department, University of Coimbra, 3004-516 Coimbra, Portugal
Maria Margarida Cruz
Biosystems and Integrative Sciences Institute (BioISI), Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
Helena Oliveira
CESAM, Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Verónica Bastos
CESAM, Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Álvaro Mayoral
Instituto de Nanociencia y Materiales de Aragon (INMA), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), University of Zaragoza 12, Calle de Pedro Cerbuna, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
Qing Zhang
Center for High-Resolution Electron Microscopy (CћEM), School of Physical Science and Technology (SPST), ShanghaiTech University, 393 Middle Huaxia Road, Pudong, Shanghai 201210, China
Paula Ferreira
CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, Department of Materials and Ceramic Engineering, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Magnetic nanoparticles (NP), such as magnetite, have been the subject of research for application in the biomedical field, especially in Magnetic Hyperthermia Therapy (MHT), a promising technique for cancer therapy. NP are often coated with different compounds such as natural or synthetic polymers to protect them from oxidation and enhance their colloidal electrostatic stability while maintaining their thermal efficiency. In this work, the synthesis and characterization of magnetite nanoparticles coated with fucoidan, a biopolymer with recognized biocompatibility and antitumoral activity, is reported. The potential application of NP in MHT was evaluated through the assessment of Specific Loss Power (SLP) under an electromagnetic field amplitude of 14.7 kA m−1 and at 276 kHz. For fucoidan-coated NP, it was obtained SLP values of 100 and 156 W/g, corresponding to an Intrinsic Loss Power (ILP) of 1.7 and 2.6 nHm2kg−1, respectively. These values are, in general, higher than the ones reported in the literature for non-coated magnetite NP or coated with other polymers. Furthermore, in vitro assays showed that fucoidan and fucoidan-coated NP are biocompatible. The particle size (between ca. 6 to 12 nm), heating efficiency, and biocompatibility of fucoidan-coated magnetite NP meet the required criteria for MHT application.
