Noninvasive Microsurgery Using Aptamer-Functionalized Magnetic Microdisks for Tumor Cell Eradication

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Nanotechnology
• Oncology

Background:

• Magnetomechanical cell disruption offers a noninvasive method for eliminating diseased cells.
• Ferromagnetic microdisks oscillate under an alternating magnetic field (AMF), disrupting cell membranes and inducing apoptosis.
• Targeting specific cells, especially cancerous ones, remains a challenge for this technology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To functionalize magnetic microdisks with DNA aptamers for targeted cancer cell recognition.
• To evaluate the efficacy of aptamer-modified microdisks in eliminating cancerous cells in vivo.
• To assess the potential of this technology for noninvasive tumor microsurgery.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication and functionalization of magnetic microdisks with cell-binding DNA aptamers.
• In vivo administration of functionalized microdisks into mouse tumors.
• Application of a 100 Hz alternating magnetic field (AMF) for 10 minutes to induce magnetomechanical disruption.

Main Results:

• Aptamer-modified magnetic microdisks successfully recognized and targeted cancerous cells in vivo.
• A short 10-minute AMF treatment was sufficient to eliminate cancer cells from malignant tumors.
• The treatment resulted in cell death and subsequent apoptosis of targeted cancer cells.

Conclusions:

• Aptamer-functionalized magnetic microdisks represent a novel approach for targeted cancer therapy.
• This method demonstrates high efficacy in noninvasive elimination of tumor cells.
• The technology shows significant potential for future applications in noninvasive cancer microsurgery.