Nanoparticle based induction heating at low magnitudes of magnetic field strengths for breast cancer therapy

Magnetic hyperthermia has received much attention during the last decade due to its implementation in cancer treatment. Recently, functionalized superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION) emerged as a strong alternative adjuvant treatment approach, which complements conventional methods such as chemotherapy. In this study, we demonstrate the anticancer effect of Poly(acrylic acid)-coated, anti-HER2-tagged SPIONs on breast cancer cells using a low magnetic field strength of 0.8 kAm(-1), which is significantly lower compared to the literature, with a frequency of 400 kHz. Specificity was achieved via anti-HER2 antibody attachment to nanoparticles. HER2-positive SKBR3 and MDA-MB-453 cell lines internalized the nanoparticles successfully. These nanoparticles, which were not toxic to these cell lines, led to a prominent decrease in cell proliferation and survival in MDA-MB-453 cells when subjected to hyperthermia. Therefore, the hyperthermia-targeted SPION approach could be developed as a potential cancer treatment approach against breast cancer and possible other cancer types.