Particle Size Dependent Photodynamic Anticancer Activity of Hematoporphyrin-Conjugated Fe3O4 Particles

Nanomedicine, which involves the use of magnetic nanoparticles such as Fe3O4, has provided novel technical solutions for cancer diagnosis and treatment. Most studies in nanomedicine have focused on the use of nanoparticles with magnetic resonance imaging and hyperthermia. However, to achieve optimum anticancer effects, it is important to understand the physicochemical properties of magnetic nanoparticles and their interactions with biological entities. In this study, we synthesized Fe3O4 particles of various sizes and conjugated them with hematoporphyrin (HP) molecules by using a simple surface-modification method. HP molecules were covalently bound to the surface of Fe3O4 particles by a wet chemical process, resulting in Fe3O4@HPs particles that were uniform in size, were nontoxic, and exhibited strong anticancer effects on human prostate cancer (PC-3) and breast cancer (MDA-MB-231) cell lines. The Fe3O4@HPs particles showed remarkable and efficient photodynamic anticancer activity, depending on their particle size. These results indicate that all size of Fe3O4@HPs particles can be useful for photodynamic anticancer therapy, although the smaller size is better than the larger size and further studies will be needed to confirm the potential for clinical anticancer treatment.