Are SPION's dangerous?
Physicists have measured the toxicity of modern antitumor drugs
Anna Kerman, XX2 century
NUST MISIS scientists, together with Russian and foreign colleagues, have developed a methodology for rapid analysis of the toxicity of magnetic nanoparticles used to create antitumor drugs. The results of the work of the international research team are published in the journal Scientific Reports (Erofeev et al., Novel method for rapid toxicity screening of magnetic nanoparticles).
In recent years, magnetic nanoparticles, especially superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION), have been widely studied in biomedicine. To date, SPION is the only magnetic nanoparticles approved for use in clinical practice.
SPION is widely used in targeted drug delivery, they are used both as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging, and as a necessary component of procedures based on hyperthermia ("burning out" tumors from the inside) and radionuclide therapy using a magnetic field. The task facing scientists today is to assess the risks to the health of patients associated with the use of nanoparticles. To do this, it is necessary to develop new methods for high–performance analysis of bioreactions and making forecasts of the toxicity of substances - in fact, specialists from NUST MISIS engaged in the development of such a method.
– Scientists of NUST MISIS, under the leadership of the leading researcher of the laboratory "Biomedical Nanomaterials" of NUST MISIS, PhD Alexander Erofeev, have created a technology for assessing the toxicity of magnetic nanoparticles used for the treatment of cancer. Based on the measurement of reactive oxygen species inside the cell with a unique innovative nanoelectrode, in the future the technology will help to introduce new medical antitumor drugs faster and more efficiently," said Alevtina Chernikova, Rector of NUST MISIS.
The nanoelectrode quickly and accurately measures the content of reactive oxygen species on single cells.
According to the authors of the study, the results of the new method made it possible to demonstrate a significant difference in the concentrations of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) during measurements in cancer cells before and after exposure to iron oxide nanoparticles. The sensitivity of the developed method differs markedly from the sensitivity of standard methods – the old technologies do not allow detecting the corresponding difference in ROS concentrations.
ROS are oxygen ions, free radicals and peroxides formed both as a result of natural metabolism and under the action of ionizing radiation. Increased ROS content in the cell usually leads to "oxidative stress" and damage to cellular structures due to oxidation.
"We have developed a stable probe for measuring intracellular ROS based on carbon nanoelectrons coated with a catalytically active platinum layer,– explains Alexander Yerofeyev.
Scientists emphasize the importance and prospects of using nanoelectrodes for analysis. In their opinion, this will allow for a relatively fast, sensitive and cost-effective assessment of the toxicity of nanoparticles on single cells.
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