Iron-Gold Nanoflowers: A Promising Tool for Multimodal Imaging and Hyperthermia Therapy

• Published in: Pharmaceutics Vol. 14; no. 3; p. 636
• Main Authors: Christou, Evangelia, Pearson, John R, Beltrán, Ana M, Fernández-Afonso, Yilian, Gutiérrez, Lucía, de la Fuente, Jesús M, Gámez, Francisco, García-Martín, María L, Caro, Carlos
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 14-03-2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Ablation; Acids; Cell culture; Chemical elements; Cytotoxicity; Efficiency; Ethanol; Fourier transforms; gold–iron nanoparticles; Heat; Hyperthermia; Ligands; Magnetic resonance imaging; Morphology; MRI; multimodal imaging; nanoflowers; Nanoparticles; photothermal therapy; Seeds; Spectrum analysis; Statistical analysis; Transmission electron microscopy; United States > US; CT; MRI; gold–iron nanoparticles; photothermal therapy; nanoflowers; multimodal imaging; magnetic hyperthermia
• ISSN: 1999-4923; 1999-4923
• DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14030636

The development of nanoplatforms prepared to perform both multimodal imaging and combined therapies in a single entity is a fast-growing field. These systems are able to improve diagnostic accuracy and therapy success. Multicomponent Nanoparticles (MCNPs), composed of iron oxide and gold, offer new opportunities for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Computed Tomography (CT) diagnosis, as well as combined therapies based on Magnetic Hyperthermia (MH) and Photothermal Therapy (PT). In this work, we describe a new seed-assisted method for the synthesis of Au@Fe Nanoparticles (NPs) with a flower-like structure. For biomedical purposes, Au@Fe NPs were functionalized with a PEGylated ligand, leading to high colloidal stability. Moreover, the as-obtained Au@Fe-PEG NPs exhibited excellent features as both MRI and CT Contrast Agents (CAs), with high r
relaxivity (60.5 mM
⋅s
) and X-ray attenuation properties (8.8 HU mM
⋅HU). In addition, these nanoflowers presented considerable energy-to-heat conversion under both Alternating Magnetic Fields (AMFs) (∆T ≈ 2.5 °C) and Near-Infrared (NIR) light (∆T ≈ 17 °C). Finally, Au@Fe-PEG NPs exhibited very low cytotoxicity, confirming their potential for theranostics applications.