BACKGROUND

Superparamagnetic poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)-coated Fe3O4 microcapsules are receiving increased attention as potential diagnostic and therapeutic modalities in the field of oncology. In this study, PLGA-coated Fe3O4 microcapsules were combined with a magnetic resonance imaging-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound (MR-guided HIFU) platform, with the objective of investigating the effects of these composite microcapsules regarding MR-guided HIFU liver cancer surgery in vivo.

METHODS

PLGA-coated Fe3O4 microcapsules consisting of a liquid core and a PLGA-Fe3O4 shell were fabricated using a modified double emulsion evaporation method. Their acute biosafety was confirmed in vitro using MDA cells and in vivo using rabbits. To perform MR-guided HIFU surgery, the microcapsules were intravenously injected into a rabbit liver tumor model before MR-guided HIFU. T2-weighted images and MR signal intensity in normal liver parenchyma and tumor tissue were acquired before and after injection, to assess the MR imaging ability of the microcapsules. After MR-guided HIFU ablation tissue temperature mapping, the coagulative volume and histopathology of the tumor tissue were analyzed to investigate the ablation effects of MR-guided HIFUs.

RESULTS

Scanning and transmission electron microscopy showed that the microcapsules displayed a spherical morphology and a shell-core structure (mean diameter, 587 nm). The hysteresis curve displayed the typical superparamagnetic properties of the microcapsules, which are critical to their application in MR-guided HIFU surgery. In MR-guided HIFU surgery, these microcapsules functioned as an MRI contrast agent, induced significant hyperthermal enhancement (P < 0.05) and significantly enhanced the volume of coagulative necrosis (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The administration of PLGA-coated Fe3O4 microcapsules is a potentially synergistic technique regarding the enhancement of MR-guided HIFU cancer surgery.