Data di Pubblicazione:
2023
Citazione:
Shape-Driven Response of Gold Nanoparticles to X-rays / S. Tarantino, C. Capomolla, A. Carlà, L. Giotta, M. Cascione, C. Ingrosso, E. Scarpa, L. Rizzello, A. Paola Caricato, R. Rinaldi, V. De Matteis. - In: NANOMATERIALS. - ISSN 2079-4991. - 13:19(2023), pp. 2719.1-2719.16. [10.3390/nano13192719]
Abstract:
Radiotherapy (RT) involves delivering X-ray beams to the tumor site to trigger DNA
damage. In this approach, it is fundamental to preserve healthy cells and to confine the X-ray beam
only to the malignant cells. The integration of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in the X-ray methodology
could be considered a powerful tool to improve the efficacy of RT. Indeed, AuNPs have proven to be
excellent allies in contrasting tumor pathology upon RT due to their high photoelectric absorption
coefficient and unique physiochemical properties. However, an analysis of their physical and
morphological reaction to X-ray exposure is necessary to fully understand the AuNPs’ behavior upon
irradiation before treating the cells, since there are currently no studies on the evaluation of potential
NP morphological changes upon specific irradiations. In this work, we synthesized two differently
shaped AuNPs adopting two different techniques to achieve either spherical or star-shaped AuNPs.
The spherical AuNPs were obtained with the Turkevich–Frens method, while the star-shaped AuNPs
(AuNSs) involved a seed-mediated approach. We then characterized all AuNPs with Transmission
Electron Microscopy (TEM), Uv-Vis spectroscopy, Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), zeta potential
and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The next step involved the treatment of AuNPs
with two different doses of X-radiation commonly used in RT, namely 1.8 Gy and 2 Gy, respectively.
Following the X-rays’ exposure, the AuNPs were further characterized to investigate their possible
physicochemical and morphological alterations induced with the X-rays. We found that AuNPs do
not undergo any alteration, concluding that they can be safely used in RT treatments. Lastly, the actin
rearrangements of THP-1 monocytes treated with AuNPs were also assessed in terms of coherency.
This is a key proof to evaluate the possible activation of an immune response, which still represents a
big limitation for the clinical translation of NPs.
Tipologia IRIS:
01 - Articolo su periodico
Keywords:
gold nanoparticles; X-rays; radiotherapy; physicochemical properties; medical physics; nanoparticle synthesis
Elenco autori:
S. Tarantino, C. Capomolla, A. Carlà, L. Giotta, M. Cascione, C. Ingrosso, E. Scarpa, L. Rizzello, A. Paola Caricato, R. Rinaldi, V. De Matteis
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