Radio-sensitivity enhancement in HT29 cells through magnetic hyperthermia in combination with targeted nano-carrier of 5-Flourouracil.

Normal tissue complication and development of radioresistance in cancer cells are known as the main challenges of ionizing radiation treatment. In the current study, we intended to induce selective radiosensitization in HT29 cancer cells by developing folic acid modified magnetic triblock copolymer nanoparticles as carrier of 5-Flourouracil (5-FU) which was further used in combination with hyperthermia. The aforementioned nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized by differential scanning calorimetric analysis (DSC), UV-visible spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), zeta sizer, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). These nanoparticles were also assessed to determine drug loading capacity (DLC %) and drug release profile. The cytotoxicity of nanoparticles was evaluated on two different cell lines: HUVEC and HT29. Furthermore, radiosensitivity induction of the nanoparticles with and without exposure of alternative magnetic field was investigated. MTT-based cytotoxicity assay demonstrated that the therapeutic ratio was enhanced in response to using 5-FU-loaded nanoparticles as compared to 5-FU. Various characterizations including gene expression study, measurement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, Annexin V/PI staining, and clonogenic assay revealed that ionizing radiation in combination with hyperthermia in the presence of the synthesized nanoparticles led to maximal anti-cancer effects as compared to other single (P < 0.001) and combined treatments (P < 0.01). Our results suggested that combined treatment based on using folic acid modified magnetic copolymer nanoparticle as carrier of 5-FU accompanied with hyperthermia could be proposed as an efficient approach to enhance radiation effects in cancer cells.
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