Investigating the Radiosensitivity Effect of Dextran-coated Iron Oxide Nanoparticles on Cervical Cancerous Cells Irradiated with 6 MV Photon Beams

Background and The use of nanotechnology is increasing in different fields of medical sciences including diagnosis and treatment. Metal nanoparticles such as Iron nanoparticles are proposed as novel radiation-sensitizing agents in enhancing the efficiency of radiotherapy because they have a large number of atoms. This study aimed at investigating the radiosensitivity effect of dextran-coated iron oxide nanoparticles on irradiated cervical cancerous HeLa cell line using 6MV photon beams.
In this experimental study, the cytotoxicity of the nanoparticles on the HeLa cells was measured using MTT assay. To investigate the radiosensitivity effect of the nanoparticles, the cells were incubated with these nanoparticles at 20 and 50µg/ml concentrations and irradiated with different doses of 6MVphoton beams.
The incubation times of 6, 12 and 24 hours at concentrations of 20 and 50µg/ml of nanoparticles on the cells did not show significant cytotoxicity. According to the results, dextran-coated iron oxide nanoparticles showed more radiosensitivity effect at 50µg/ml concentration compared to 20µg/ml. The mean values of dose enhancement factors using 6MV photon beams were 1.19±0.15 and 1.49±0.11, at 20 and 50µg/ml concentrations, respectively.
Dextran-coated iron oxide nanoparticles can significantly enhance the radiation absorbed dose and consequently increase radiotherapy efficiency in cervical cancer cells irradiated with mega voltage photon beam and this could be considered in treatment of cancer.