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Journal of Nanobiotechnology Open Access

RESEARCH

Ultrathin gold nanowires to enhance radiation therapy Lin Bai1,2†, Fangchao Jiang3†, Renjie Wang1,2†, Chaebin Lee3, Hui Wang4, Weizhong Zhang3, Wen Jiang3, Dandan Li5, Bin Ji1,2, Zibo Li4, Shi Gao1,2, Jin Xie3*  and Qingjie Ma1,2*

Abstract  Background:  Radiation therapy is a main treatment option for cancer. Due to normal tissue toxicity, radiosensitizers are commonly used to enhance RT. In particular, heavy metal or high-Z materials, such as gold nanoparticles, have been investigated as radiosensitizers. So far, however, the related studies have been focused on spherical gold nanoparticles. In this study, we assessed the potential of ultra-thin gold nanowires as a radiosensitizer, which is the first time. Methods:  Gold nanowires were synthesized by the reduction of ­HAuCl4 in hexane. The as-synthesized gold nanowires were then coated with a layer of PEGylated phospholipid to be rendered soluble in water. Spherical gold nanoparticles coated with the same phospholipid were also synthesized as a comparison. Gold nanowires and gold nanospheres were first tested in solutions for their ability to enhance radical production under irradiation. They were then incubated with 4T1 cells to assess whether they could elevate cell oxidative stress under irradiation. Lastly, gold nanowires and gold nanoparticles were intratumorally injected into a 4T1 xenograft model, followed by irradiation applied to tumors (3 Gy/per day for three days). Tumor growth was monitored and compared. Results:  Our studies showed that gold nanowires are superior to gold nanospheres in enhancing radical production under X-ray radiation. In vitro analysis found that the presence of gold nanowires caused elevated lipid peroxidation and intracellular oxidative stress under radiation. When tested in vivo, gold nanowires plus irradiation led to better tumor suppression than gold nanospheres plus radiation. Moreover, gold nanowires were found to be gradually reduced to shorter nanowires by glutathione, which may benefit fractionated radiation. Conclusion:  Our studies suggest that gold nanowires are a promising type of radiosensitizer that can be safely injected into tumors to enhance radiotherapy. While the current study was conducted in a breast cancer model, the approach can be extended to the treatment of other cancer types. Keywords:  Gold nanoparticles, Radiation therapy, Radiosensitizer, Radicals, Nanowires Background External radiotherapy (RT) remains a mainstay cancer treatment option. RT exploits ionizing radiation such as X-rays to damage DNA and lipids, eventually leading to *Correspondence: [email protected]; [email protected] † Lin Bai, Fangchao Jiang and Renjie Wang contributed equally to this work 1 Department of Nuclear Medicine, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130033, Jilin, China 3 Department of Chemistry, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA Full list of author information is available at the end of the article

cancer cell death [1, 2]. However, the amount