Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 5, 2025
Magnetic-, Acoustic-, and Optical-Triple-Responsive Microbubbles for Magnetic Hyperthermia and Pothotothermal Combination Cancer Therapy
Published on: May 22, 2020
Low frequency vibrating magnetic field-triggered magnetic microspheres with a nanoflagellum-like surface for cancer
Yuliang Guo1, Wenxuan Yang1, Guangjin Pu1
1Research Center for Translational Medicine at Shanghai East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, People's Republic of China.
Background:
The magneto-mechanical force killing cancer cells is an interesting and important strategy for cancer therapy.
Results:
Novel magnetic microspheres composed of a Fe3O4 nanocore, a bovine serum albumin (BSA) matrix, and a rod-like SiO2 nanoshell, which had flagellum-like surface for force-mediated cancer therapy were developed. One such magnetic microsphere (Fe3O4/BSA/rSiO2) at a cancer cell (not leave the cell surface) under a low frequency vibrating magnetic field (VMF) could generate 6.17 pN force. Interestingly, this force could induce cancer cell to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS). The force and force-induced ROS could kill cancer cells. The cell killing efficiency of Fe3O4/BSA/rSiO2 exposed to a VMF was enhanced with increasing silica nanorod length, and the microspheres with straight nanorods exhibited stronger cell killing ability than those with curled nanorods. Fe3O4/BSA/rSiO2 triggered by a VMF could efficiently inhibit mouse tumor growth, while these microspheres without a VMF had no significant effect on the cell cycle distribution, cell viability, tumor growth, and mouse health.
Conclusions:
These microspheres with unique morphological characteristics under VMF have great potential that can provide a new platform for treating solid tumors at superficial positions whether with hypoxia regions or multidrug resistance.
