Cytotoxic effect of functionalized superparamagnetic samarium doped iron oxide nanoparticles for hyperthermia application

Abstract

Magnetic Fluid Hyperthermia (MFH) is an emerging and safe technique for cancer treatment. Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy are widely adopted techniques for treating cancer but cause damage to the nearby healthy tissue. This paves the way for hyperthermia treatment for cancer. Since healthy cells are more heat-tolerant than malignant cells, magnetic nanoparticles with superparamagnetic properties were used in hyperthermia treatment. Surface modified magnetite (Fe3O4) iron oxide nanoparticles with enhanced stability, solubility, bio-compatibility and magnetic property were employed in hyperthermia treatment. In the present study, Superparamagnetic Samarium doped magnetite (Fe3O4:Sm) nanoparticles were functionalized with Oleylamine (OAm) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) by the sol-gel process. The obtained nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and UV–Visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM). From XRD data, the crystallite size of oleylamine coated samarium doped magnetite (OAm–Fe3O4:Sm) and PVA-coated samarium doped Fe3O4 (PVA- Fe3O4:Sm) were found to be 9.5 nm and 10.9 nm, respectively. TEM images of the functionalized nanoparticles were visualized as a spherical structure with reduced agglomeration. UV-DRS gives the bandgap value of OAm–Fe3O4:Sm and PVA- Fe3O4:Sm coated samarium doped magnetite to be 2.3 eV and 2 eV respectively. VSM measurement of OAm-Fe3O4:Sm and PVA- Fe3O4:Sm coated, showed superparamagnetic behaviour. The cytotoxicity study on the L929 cell line shows that both oleylamine and PVA-coated samarium doped magnetite were less toxic and biocompatible compared to the uncoated Fe3O4:Sm. The hyperthermia study reveals a rise in temperature within a few seconds with a high Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) value, confirming that the functionalized Samarium doped Fe3O4 was an effective nanomaterial for hyperthermia application.