A Chinese joint team reported their success of synthesizing urchin-like nickel nanoparticles (UNNPs) by magneto-solvothermal method.

The joint research team was led by Prof. WANG Hui and Prof. ZHANG Xin from High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science.

In recent years, magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have been widely used in cancer treatment, and the concept of "magnetic knife" has also been proposed, which means magnetic nanoparticles generate mechanical force with a function of "rotating stirring" under the action of a rotating magnetic field.

Using this mechanical force can destroy tumor cells and achieve the same effect as a scalpel. This "magnetic knife" composed of magnetic nanoparticles is not a "knife" in the traditional sense. It is actually a "mechanical force" driven by a magnetic field. This force is similar to the turbo-shaped force produced by a juicer when stirring fruits that are crushed under the influence of turbo force, and the same cells are crushed under the action of magnetic field mechanical force until they die.

Due to its advantages of deep tumor treatment and remote manipulation, magnetomechanical cancer therapy has received continuous attention in this field.

At present, different types of MNPs have been widely used in the treatment of cancer induced by magnetomechanics, but these MNPs are limited by the smooth surface and weak magnetism, making it difficult for greater progress in magnetomechanical cancer treatment.

Therefore, it will be of great significance to design MNPs with high saturation magnetization and structure specificity for higher efficiency of magnetomechanical cancer treatment.

The team used a magnetic field and solvothermal method to synthesize UNNPs in one step. The relevant characterization and experiments showed that the UNNPs not only had the advantages of high saturation magnetization and structural specificity, but also had no obvious toxic and side effects on normal cells and organisms.

Under the low-frequency rotating magnetic field, UNNPs exhibited the role of "magnetic knife", which effectively inhibited the growth of breast cancer in mice.

The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation, the start-up fund of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dean's Fund of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Collaborative Innovation Program of Hefei Science Center, Anhui Key Laboratory of Medical Physics and Technology of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Link to the paper: Synthesis of urchin-like nickel nanoparticles with enhanced rotating magnetic field-induced cell necrosis and tumor inhibition

Schematic diagram of the mechanism by which rotating magnetic fields induce UNNPs to produce mechanical force to inhibit tumor growth (Image by WANG Hui)

Contact:

ZHOU Shu

Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (http://english.hf.cas.cn/)

Email: zhous@hfcas.ac.cn