Original Article
Barium tungstate nanoparticles to enhance radiation therapy against cancer

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nano.2020.102230Get rights and content

Abstract

High-Z nanoparticles have emerged as a novel type of radiosensitizers due to their relatively large X-ray cross-section and ability to enhance radical production under irradiation. Recently, CaWO4 nanoparticles have been prepared and their potential as a radiosensitizer has been demonstrated. Herein, we investigated BaWO4 nanoparticles as a novel type of alkaline-earth metal tungstate radiosensitizer for radiotherapy (RT). We synthesized BaWO4 nanoparticles using hydrothermal reaction and coated them with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). We found that BaWO4 nanoparticles could more efficiently enhance hydroxyl radical production under irradiation than CaWO4 nanoparticles. When tested in vitro, BaWO4 nanoparticles showed lower toxicity than CaWO4 nanoparticles in the absence of irradiation, but induced more significant oxidative stress under irradiation. When tested in vivo, BaWO4 nanoparticles led to more efficient tumor inhibition without causing systemic toxicity. Overall, our results suggest that BaWO4 nanoparticles can efficiently enhance RT and hold great potential as a novel type of radiosensitizing agent.

Graphical Abstract

BaWO4 nanoparticles were prepared and tested as a novel type of radiosensitizer. Containing high-Z elements (Ba and W), BaWO4 nanoparticles can enhance the production of radicals under radiation. Our results show that BaWO4 nanoparticles have lower toxicity than CaWO4 nanoparticles in the absence of radiation but lead to higher cellular oxidative stress in vitro and greater tumor suppression in vivo.

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Section snippets

Chemicals

Barium chloride (BaCl2, anhydrous, ≥97%, Fisher Scientific), calcium chloride (CaCl2, anhydrous, ≥97%, Millipore Sigma), sodium tungstate dihydrate (Na2WO4·2H2O, ≥99%, Fisher Scientific), hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB, ≥99%, Millipore Sigma), PVP (MW 360,000, Millipore Sigma), thiazolyl blue tetrazolium bromide (MTT, ≥97.5%, HPLC, Millipore Sigma), 3′-(p-aminophenyl) fluorescein (APF, Life Technologies), singlet oxygen sensor green (SOSG, Life Technologies), superoxide dismutase

Results and Discussion

BaWO4 nanoparticles were synthesized through a hydrothermal reaction. Briefly, CTAB was dissolved in cyclohexane/1-hexanol, and was added into an aqueous solution containing BaCl2 and Na2WO4. The resulting mixture underwent vigorous stirring at 70 °C for 1 minute before transferred to a Teflon-lined autoclave. The autoclave was heated at 160 °C for 24 h, and then cooled down to room temperature. The products were collected by centrifugation. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning

Conclusions

We have synthesized PVP-coated BaWO4 nanoparticles and assessed their potential as a novel type of radiosensitizer. For comparison, we have also studied CaWO4 nanoparticles, another type of alkaline earth metal tungstate. Previously, high-Z nanoparticles made of gold, HfO2, as well as gadolinium, silver, bismuth, and iron oxide, have been tested for their radiosensitizing effects.11,16., 17., 18.,20,32., 33., 34., 35. To our best knowledge, BaWO4 nanoparticles have never been investigated for

Acknowledgement

We thank the funding support by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) projects (Grant numbers: 81871384, 81771869, 81571708), the Norman Bethune Program of Jilin University (Grant number: 2015219), the Research Fund of Science and Technology Department of Jilin Province (Grant number: 20200201414), and the Hygiene Specific Subjects of Jilin Province (Grant number: 2018SCZ039). This work was also supported by a UGA-Augusta seed grant.

Notes

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

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    These authors contributed equally to this work.

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