Magnetohyperthermia-synergistic glioma cancer therapy enabled by magnetic graphene oxide nanoheaters: promising nanostructure for in vitro and in vivo applications

Abstract

AbstractIn the present study, a magnetohyperthermia (MH)-based therapy is introduced as an effective treatment for deep-seated tumors especially glioma, which combines the magnetothermal effect and the reactive oxygen species (ROS) induced with magnetic graphene oxide (GOMNPs) nanoheaters to overcome the issue of limited therapeutic efficacy in the current magnetothermal therapeutic strategy. Magnetic graphene oxide nanoheaters with a size of 34 nm and a surface charge of − 35 mV showed very little toxicity under in vitro and ex vivo circumstances based on MTT and hemolysis assay, respectively. The application of GOMNPs under an alternating magnetic coil (AMC) showed that they had high specific absorption rate (SAR, P < 0.01), with enhanced level of ROS production within the tumor microenvironment. The results confirmed a significant increase in the SAR in blood compared to culture media (P < 0.01), which indicates the improvement of magnetohyperthermia performance in in vivo conditions compared to in vitro. A significant therapeutic efficacy was achieved with a dosage of 30 mg/kg of GOMNPs following 3 therapeutic courses under alternating magnetic field (AMF) compared to AMF alone (P < 0.05). GOMNPs exhibited a strong anti-glioma effect by inhibiting tumor growth, and increasing the survival ratio by inducing apoptotic cell death (P < 0.05). The Bax/Bcl2 protein and gene ratio confirmed a higher rate of apoptotic death in the MH-treated group (P < 0.05). Combination of magnetohyperthermia with conventional modalities may offer tremendous clinical advantages compared to the currently available methods. Graphical Abstract