Comparative effects of magnetic and water-based hyperthermia treatments on human osteosarcoma cells

Hyperthermia (HT) based on magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) represents a promising approach to induce the apoptosis/necrosis of tumor cells through the heat generated by MNPs submitted to alternating magnetic fields. However, the effects of temperature distribution on the cancer cells' viability as well as heat resistance of various tumor cell types warrant further investigation.

In this work, the effects induced by magnetic hyperthermia (MHT) and conventional water-based hyperthermia (WHT) on the viability of human osteosarcoma cells at different temperatures (37°C-47°C) was comparatively investigated. Fe-Cr-Nb-B magnetic nanoparticles were submitted either to alternating magnetic fields or to infrared radiation generated by a water-heated incubator.

In terms of cell viability, significant differences could be observed after applying the two HT treatment methods. At about equal equilibrium temperatures, MHT was on average 16% more efficient in inducing cytotoxicity effects compared to WHT, as assessed by MTT cytotoxicity assay.

We propose the phenomena can be explained by the significantly higher cytotoxic effects initiated during MHT treatment in the vicinity of the heat-generating MNPs compared to the effects triggered by the homogeneously distributed temperature during WHT. These in vitro results confirm other previous findings regarding the superior efficiency of MHT over WHT and explain the cytotoxicity differences observed between the two antitumor HT methods.