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Radiation dose enhancement of gadolinium-based AGuIX nanoparticles on HeLa cells
Matthew Luchette1, Houari Korideck1, Mike Makrigiorgos1
1Department of Radiation Oncology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Abstract:
Radiation dose enhancement of high-Z nanoparticles is an active area of research in cancer therapeutics. When kV and MV energy photon beams interact with high-Z nanoparticles in a tumor, the release of secondary electrons can injure tumor cells, leading to a higher treatment efficacy than radiation alone. We present a study that characterizes the radiation dose enhancing effects of gadolinium-based AGuIX nanoparticles on HeLa cells. Our in vitro clonogenic survival assays showed an average dose enhancement of 1.54× for 220 kVp radiation and 1.15× for 6 MV radiation. The sensitivity enhancement ratio at 4 Gy (SER4Gy) was 1.54 for 220 kVp and 1.28 for 6 MV, indicating that these nanoparticles may be useful for clinical radiation therapy.
From The Clinical Editor:
This study characterized the radiation dose enhancing effects of gadolinium-based AGuIX nanoparticles on HeLa cells, showing clear effects at 220 kV as well as 6 MV, suggesting that after additional studies, these nanoparticles may be beneficial in human radiation therapy.
