Hyaluronic acid-functionalized bismuth oxide nanoparticles for computed tomography imaging-guided radiotherapy of tumor

Fengyi Du,1,2,* Jiaming Lou,1,* Rong Jiang,2,* Zhengzou Fang,2,* Xuefen Zhao,2 Yuanyuan Niu,2 Shenqiang Zou,3 Miaomiao Zhang,2 Aihua Gong,2 Chaoyang Wu1 1Department of Oncology, The Affiliated People’s Hospital, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Cellular Biology, School of Medicine, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Hepatosis, The Third Hospital of Zhenjiang Affiliated, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: The inherent radioresistance and inaccuracy of localization of tumors weaken the clinical implementation effectiveness of radiotherapy. To overcome these limitations, hyaluronic acid-functionalized bismuth oxide nanoparticles (HA-Bi2O3 NPs) were synthesized by one-pot hydrothermal method for target-specific computed tomography (CT) imaging and radiosensitization of tumor. After functionalization with hyaluronic acid, the Bi2O3 NPs possessed favorable solubility in water and excellent biocompatibility and were uptaken specifically by cancer cells overexpressing CD44 receptors. The as-prepared HA-Bi2O3 NPs exhibited high X-ray attenuation efficiency and ideal radiosensitivity via synergizing X-rays to induce cell apoptosis and arrest the cell cycle in a dose-dependent manner in vitro. Remarkably, these properties offered excellent performance in active-targeting CT imaging and enhancement of radiosensitivity for inhibition of tumor growth. These findings demonstrated that HA-Bi2O3 NPs as theranostic agents exhibit great promise for CT imaging-guided radiotherapy in diagnosis and treatment of tumors. Keywords: HA-Bi2O3 NPs, CT imaging, radiosensitivity, HA, bismut