School of Chemical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, 2066 Seobu-ro, Jangan-gu, Suwon, 16419, Republic of Korea.
Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Pusan National University, 2 Busandaehak-ro 63beon-gil, Geumjeong-gu, Pusan, 46241, Republic of Korea.
Tissue Eng Regen Med. 2022 Dec;19(6):1161-1168. doi: 10.1007/s13770-022-00468-y. Epub 2022 Aug 25.
Various methods based on gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been applied to enhance the photothermal effect. Among these methods, combining gold nanoparticles and stem cells has been suggested as a new technique for elevating the efficiency of photothermal therapy (PT) in terms of enhancing tumor targeting effect. However, to elicit the efficiency of PT using gold nanoparticles and stem cells, delivering large amounts of AuNPs into stem cells without loss should be considered.
AuNPs, AuNPs-decorated silica nanoparticles, and silica-capped and AuNPs-decorated silica nanoparticles (SGSs) were synthesized and used to treat human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). After evaluating physical properties of each nanoparticle, the concentration of each nanoparticle was estimated based on its cytotoxicity to hMSCs. The amount of AuNPs loss from each nanoparticle by exogenous physical stress was evaluated after exposing particles to a gentle shaking. After these experiments, in vitro and in vivo photothermal effects were then evaluated.
SGS showed no cytotoxicity when it was used to treat hMSCs at concentration up to 20 μg/mL. After intravenous injection to tumor-bearing mice, SGS-laden hMSCs group showed significantly higher heat generation than other groups following laser irradiation. Furthermore, in vivo photothermal effect in the hMSC-SGS group was significantly enhanced than those in other groups in terms of tumor volume decrement and histological outcome.
Our results suggest that additional silica layer in SGSs could protect AuNPs from physical stress induced AuNPs loss. The strategy applied in SGS may offer a prospective method to improve PT.
基于金纳米粒子（AuNPs）的各种方法已被应用于增强光热效应。在这些方法中，将金纳米粒子与干细胞结合被认为是一种提高光热疗法（PT）效率的新技术，可增强肿瘤靶向效应。然而，为了利用金纳米粒子和干细胞来发挥 PT 的效率，应考虑将大量 AuNPs 递送到干细胞中而不损失它们。
合成了金纳米粒子、金纳米粒子修饰的硅纳米粒子和硅壳封端及金纳米粒子修饰的硅纳米粒子（SGSs），并用于处理人骨髓间充质干细胞（hMSCs）。在评估了每种纳米粒子的物理性质后，根据其对 hMSCs 的细胞毒性来估计每种纳米粒子的浓度。在将粒子暴露于温和的摇动后，评估每种粒子中外源物理应激导致的 AuNPs 损失量。进行这些实验后，然后评估体外和体内光热效应。
当 SGS 用于以高达 20μg/mL 的浓度处理 hMSCs 时，它没有显示出细胞毒性。在静脉注射到荷瘤小鼠后，在激光照射后，负载 SGS 的 hMSC 组的产热量明显高于其他组。此外，在 hMSC-SGS 组中，体内光热效应在肿瘤体积减少和组织学结果方面明显优于其他组。
我们的结果表明，SGS 中的额外硅层可以保护 AuNPs 免受物理应激引起的 AuNPs 损失。在 SGS 中应用的策略可能为提高 PT 提供一种有前景的方法。
