Radiation dose enhancement of gadolinium-based AGuIX nanoparticles on HeLa cells

Radiation dose enhancement of high-Z nanoparticles is an active area of research in cancer therapeutics. When kV and MV energy photon beams interact with high-Z nanoparticles in a tumor, the release of secondary electrons can injure tumor cells, leading to a higher treatment efficacy than radiation alone. We present a study that characterizes the radiation dose enhancing effects of gadolinium-based AGuIX nanoparticles on HeLa cells. Our in vitro clonogenic survival assays showed an average dose enhancement of 1.54x for 220 kVp radiation and 1.15x for 6 MV radiation. The sensitivity enhancement ratio at 4 Gy (SER4Gy) was 1.54 for 220 kVp and 1.28 for 6 MV, indicating that these nanoparticles may be useful for clinical radiation therapy. From the Clinical Editor: This study characterized the radiation dose enhancing effects of gadolinium-based AGuIX nanoparticles on HeLa cells, showing clear effects at 220kV as well as 6MV, suggesting that after additional studies, these nanoparticles may be beneficial in human radiation therapy. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.