Injectable liquid alkali alloy based-tumor thermal ablation therapy

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Oncology

Background:

• Alkali metals show promise for tumor hyperthermia therapy.
• Solid alkali metals present surgical challenges due to their physical state.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an injectable liquid alkali alloy for minimally invasive tumor ablation.
• To evaluate the efficacy of NaK alloy as a thermal ablative agent.

Main Methods:

• A liquid NaK alloy (1:1 mass ratio) was prepared and injected into ex vivo pork tissue.
• Temperature changes and damage region sizes were measured in vitro.
• In vivo experiments involved treating breast EMT6 tumors in mice with NaK alloy.

Main Results:

• In vitro tests showed temperature increases exceeding 80°C, creating large necrotic areas.
• The necrotic region volume was three times the injected NaK volume.
• Histological analysis of in vivo experiments confirmed complete tumor necrosis at the target site.

Conclusions:

• Injectable liquid alkali alloys are a promising approach for tumor ablation.
• Further research is needed to assess the efficacy, side effects, and safety of this novel therapy in future technical and animal studies.