International Journal of Nanomedicine (Apr 2023)

Albumin-Modified Gold Nanoparticles as Novel Radiosensitizers for Enhancing Lung Cancer Radiotherapy

  • Chen Y,
  • Liu S,
  • Liao Y,
  • Yang H,
  • Chen Z,
  • Hu Y,
  • Fu S,
  • Wu J

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 18
pp. 1949 – 1964

Abstract

Read online

Yao Chen,1,* Shuya Liu,1,* Yin Liao,1,* Hanshan Yang,1 Zhuo Chen,1 Yuru Hu,1 Shaozhi Fu,1 Jingbo Wu1– 3 1Department of Oncology, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, People’s Republic of China; 2Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, People’s Republic of China; 3Academician (Expert) Workstation of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Shaozhi Fu; Jingbo Wu, Department of Oncology, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan Province, 646000, People’s Republic of China, Tel/Fax +86 8303165696, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: Considering the strong attenuation of photons and the potential to increase the deposition of radiation, high-atomic number nanomaterials are often used as radiosensitizers in cancer radiotherapy, of which gold nanoparticles (GNPs) are widely used.Materials and Methods: We prepared albumin-modified GNPs (Alb-GNPs) and observed their radiosensitizing effects and biotoxicity in human non-small-cell lung carcinoma tumor-bearing mice models.Results: The prepared nanoparticles (Alb-GNPs) demonstrated excellent colloidal stability and biocompatibility at the mean size of 205.06 ± 1.03 nm. Furthermore, clone formation experiments revealed that Alb-GNPs exerted excellent radiosensitization, with a sensitization enhancement ratio (SER) of 1.432, which is higher than X-ray alone. Our in vitro and in vivo data suggested that Alb-GNPs enabled favorable accumulation in tumors, and the combination of Alb-GNPs and radiotherapy exhibited a relatively greater radiosensitizing effect and anti-tumor activity. In addition, no toxicity or abnormal irritating response resulted from the application of Alb-GNPs.Conclusion: Alb-GNPs can be used as an effective radiosensitizer to improve the efficacy of radiotherapy with minimal damage to healthy tissues.Keywords: albumin, gold nanoparticles, radiosensitization, lung cancer, radiotherapy

Keywords