FePt nanoparticles as a potential X-ray activated chemotherapy agent for HeLa cells

Nanomaterials have an advantage in "personalized" therapy, which is the ultimate goal of tumor treatment. In order to investigate the potential ability of FePt nanoparticles (NPs) in the diagnosis and chemoradiotherapy treatment of malignant tumors, superparamagnetic, monodispersed FePt (~3 nm) alloy NPs were synthesized, using cysteamine as a capping agent. The NPs were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction; transmission electron microscopy, Physical Property Measurement System, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The cytotoxicity of FePt NPs on Vero cells was assessed using an MTT assay, and tumor cell proliferation inhibited by individual FePt NPs and FePt NPs combined with X-ray beams were also collected using MTT assays; HeLa human cancer cell lines were used as in vitro models. Further confirmation of the combined effect of FePt NPs and X-rays was verified using HeLa cells, after which, the cellular uptake of FePt NPs was captured by transmission electron microscopy. The results indicated that the growth of HeLa cells was significantly inhibited by FePt NPs in a concentration-dependent manner, and the growth was significantly more inhibited by FePt NPs combined with a series of X-ray beam doses; the individual NPs did not display any remarkable cytotoxicity on Vero cells at a concentration <250 μg/mL. Meanwhile, the FePt NPs showed negative/positive contrast enhancement for MRI/CT molecule imaging at the end of the study. Therefore, the combined results implied that FePt NPs might potentially serve as a promising nanoprobe for the integration of tumor diagnosis and chemoradiotherapy.