The High Radiosensitizing Efficiency of a Trace of Gadolinium-Based Nanoparticles in Tumors

Dufort, Sandrine
Le Duc, Géraldine
Salomé, Murielle
Bentivegna, Valerie
Sancey, Lucie
Bräuer-Krisch, Elke
Requardt, Herwig
Lux, François
Coll, Jean-Luc
Perriat, Pascal
Roux, Stéphane
Tillement, Olivier

Open link

Publication date

January 2016

DOI

10.1038/srep29678

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Abstract

International audienceWe recently developed the synthesis of ultrasmall gadolinium-based nanoparticles (GBN), (hydrodynamic diameter <5 nm) characterized by a safe behavior after intravenous injection (renal clearance, preferential accumulation in tumors). Owing to the presence of gadolinium ions, GBN can be used as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and as radiosensitizers. The attempt to determine the most opportune delay between the intravenous injection of GBN and the irradiation showed that a very low content of radiosensitizing nanoparticles in the tumor area is sufficient (0.1 μg/g of particles, i.e. 15 ppb of gadolinium) for an important increase of the therapeutic effect of irradiation. Such a promising and unexpe...