Development of a dual-functional Pt–Fe-HAP magnetic nanoparticles application for chemo-hyperthermia treatment of cancer

Abstract Lung cancer is a harmful form of cancer; chemotherapy is the main methodology for treating it, despite continuing problems such as severe side effects. For the reduction of side effects, hydroxyapatite (HAP) has been investigated as a drug carrier recently. Moreover, hyperthermia has been reported to be an effective cancer treatment modality. In order to develop an effective agent for lung cancer treatment, dual-functional nanoparticles made from HAP with iron and platinum ions incorporation (Pt–Fe-HAP) were developed for chemo-hyperthermia application. Variant HAP were synthesized and analyzed in this study. The crystallization and chemical composition were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Fe 2+ and Pt 2+ content was determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). The biocompatibility and anticancer effects of Pt–Fe-HAP were assessed using 3T3 cells via a WST-1 assay. The effect of hyperthermia on the treatment of Sprague Dawley (SD) rat fibroblast and human lung adenocarcinoma (A549) cells under a magnetic field was evaluated by a lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay. Overall, we have determined Pt–Fe-HAP could be prepared by a co-precipitation method with Fe 2+ /Pt 2+ incorporation. The platinum and iron contents were 3.69 wt% and 12.20 wt%, respectively. The hysteresis curves showed that the Pt–Fe-HAP possessed ferromagnetic properties at low magnetic fields. The water temperature could be raised to 46 °C when the Pt–Fe-HAP suspension was treated in a magnetic field for 6 min. We also confirmed that the extraction solution of Pt–Fe-HAP was nontoxic, but the direct culture of 3T3 cells with these nanoparticles was harmful. Finally, the results of the LDH assay revealed Pt–Fe-HAP was highly toxic to A549 cells after magnetic field treatment under hyperthermia but no damage to fibroblast cells was observed. The magnetic Pt–Fe-HAP nanoparticles show the potential to be a dual agent to treat cancer cells by chemo-hyperthermia therapy.