Issue 33, 2021

Facile synthesis of biocompatible magnetic titania nanorods for T1-magnetic resonance imaging and enhanced phototherapy of cancers

Abstract

Cancer treatment has been recently energized by nanomaterials that simultaneously offer diagnostic and therapeutic effects. Among the imaging and treatment modalities in frontline research today, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and phototherapy have gained significant interest due to their noninvasiveness among other intriguing benefits. Herein, Fe(III) was adsorbed on titanium dioxide to develop magnetic Fe–TiO2 nanocomposites (NCs) which leverage the Fe moiety in a double-edge-sword approach to: (i) achieve T1-weighted MRI contrast enhancement, and (ii) improve the well-established photodynamic therapeutic efficacy of TiO2 nanoparticles. Interestingly, the proposed NCs exhibit classic T1 MRI contrast agent properties (r1 = 1.16 mM−1 s−1) that are comparable to those of clinically available contrast agents. Moreover, the NCs induce negligible cytotoxicity in traditional methods and show remarkable support to the proliferation of intestine organoids, an advanced toxicity evaluation system based on three-dimensional organoids, which could benefit their potential safe application for in vivo cancer theranostics. Aided by the Fenton reaction contribution of the Fe component of the Fe–TiO2 NCs, considerable photo-killing of cancer cells is achieved upon UV irradiation at very low (2.5 mW cm−2) intensity in typical cancer PDT. It is therefore expected that this study will guide the engineering of other biocompatible magnetic titania-based nanosystems with multi-faceted properties for biomedical applications.

Graphical abstract: Facile synthesis of biocompatible magnetic titania nanorods for T1-magnetic resonance imaging and enhanced phototherapy of cancers

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
16 May 2021
Accepted
27 Jul 2021
First published
10 Aug 2021

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2021,9, 6623-6633

Facile synthesis of biocompatible magnetic titania nanorods for T1-magnetic resonance imaging and enhanced phototherapy of cancers

M. Z. Iqbal, D. Luo, O. U. Akakuru, A. Mushtaq, Y. Hou, I. Ali, G. Ijaz, B. Khalid, X. Kong and A. Wu, J. Mater. Chem. B, 2021, 9, 6623 DOI: 10.1039/D1TB01097B

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements