Supermagnetic Fe3O4-PEG nanoparticles combined with NIR laser and alternating magnetic field as potent anti-cancer agent against human ovarian cancer cells

In the present study the magnetite nanoparticles Fe3O4 capped with polyethylene glycol PEG were prepared by hydrothermal method. Syntheses bare Fe3O4, and Fe3O4-PEG were confirmed by various techniques including X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Transmission electron microscope (TEM), Dynamic light scattering (DLS), Scanning electron microscope (SEM), and Vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) techniques were used to examine the magnetic properties of the Fe3O4 MNPs. The bare Fe3O4 had an average size that ranged between 12-31nm while Fe3O4- PEG had a size range of 5-15 nm. The effect of bare Fe3O4 and Fe3O4-PEG on SKOV-3 cell proliferation was measured by MTT assay. The ability of bare Fe3O4 and Fe3O4-PEG in induction of apoptosis was tested using Acridine orange/ Ethedium bromide stain. Cytotoxicity effects of bare Fe3O4 and Fe3O4-PEG against SKOV-3 cells in the presence and absence of laser photo-thermal therapy and alternating magnetic field (AMF) was also assessed. The results showed that both bare Fe3O4 and Fe3O4-PEG caused inhibition of SKOV-3 cell proliferation, resulting in their programmed death. Cytotoxic activity against SKOV-3 cells increased with NIR laser irradiation, while highly increased cytotoxic activities were observed after exposure to induction heating with AMF. In addition, the toxicity of investigated nanoparticles in liver function enzymes and histological alterations for spleen, and the lungs were addressed. The findings indicated that these nanoparticles were biocompatible with liver function enzymes and no significant alterations were recorded in the spleen, and the lungs. Taken together the present data suggest that bare Fe3O4 and Fe3O4-PEG with NIR laser and AMF could be promising for photothermal therapy protocol for cancer cells.