A Laser Synthesis Route to Boron‐Doped Gold Nanoparticles Designed for X‐Ray Radiotherapy and Boron Neutron Capture Therapy Assisted by CT Imaging

Abstract

New multifunctional theranostic vectors allow the expansion of cancer therapeutic approaches toward scarcely investigated fields. One example is the combination of boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) and X‐ray radiotherapy (XRT) for treating normal and XRT‐resistant hypoxic tumor regions and reduce recurrence. Of great relevance for BNCT is also the support of viable, rapid, safe, and reliable techniques for the localization and quantification of the radiosensitizers in the tissues. To address these challenges, polymer‐coated Au‐B nanoparticles (NPs) are obtained starting from a laser ablation in liquid process. Despite thermodynamic constraints, the two elements coexist by short‐range boron segregation in the gold lattice, as demonstrated experimentally and explained with the support of density functional theory calculations. Thus, the Au‐B NPs maintain a marked gold character such as biocompatibility, stability, and straightforward surface chemistry with thiolated compounds, desirable for the integration with agents capable of cell targeting and internalization. Overall, the Au‐B NPs exhibit the appropriate features for the investigation of combined BNCT and XRT, supported by the localization and quantification with X‐ray computed tomography imaging. Besides, the Au‐B nanotechnology tool is achievable without renouncing to reproducibility, environmental sustainability, and cost affordability thanks to the laser‐assisted synthetic pathway.

Laser-generated nanoalloys as theranostic and biodegradable platforms for cancer nanomedicine

“…BNCT is a type of radiotherapy insensitive to oxygen level in tumor tissues, which is not the case of the widely used Xray radiotherapy, where oxygen is necessary for the generation of reactive oxygen species responsible for cell damage and apoptosis. 14 Therefore, LAL was used to generate Au-B NPs designed as multifunctional theranostic vectors which makes possible investigating the combination of BNCT and X-ray radiotherapy (XRT) for treating normal and XRTresistant hypoxic tumor regions, both under CT guidance for biodistribution and dose planning. 14 Although not biodegradable, Au and B coexisted in the Au-B NPs against thermodynamic constraints, thanks to the efficacy of LAL approach in obtaining doped or multielement metal nanoparticles.…”

“…14 Therefore, LAL was used to generate Au-B NPs designed as multifunctional theranostic vectors which makes possible investigating the combination of BNCT and X-ray radiotherapy (XRT) for treating normal and XRTresistant hypoxic tumor regions, both under CT guidance for biodistribution and dose planning. 14 Although not biodegradable, Au and B coexisted in the Au-B NPs against thermodynamic constraints, thanks to the efficacy of LAL approach in obtaining doped or multielement metal nanoparticles. Standard LAL conditions for this type of nanoalloys, namely Au-B bimetallic target dipped in ethanol, were used.…”

“…[7][8][9][10] LAL proved to be exceptionally versatile for the realization of a whole class of nanoalloys exploitable for nanomedicine. For instance, the synthesis of nanoalloys by laser ablation in liquid allowed unprecedented compositional flexibility and ease of operation, opening the way to metastable metal nanoparticles made of Au-Fe, 11,12 Ag-Fe, 13 Au-B 14 and Fe-B 15 (Figure 1). *vincenzo.amendola@unipd.it; phone 39 049 827 5673; www.chimica.unipd.it/lasp Figure 1.…”

Editorial: Special Issue “Laser Synthesis and Processing of Nanostructured Materials”

“…allows one to produce a diversity of unique nanomaterials with sophisticated structure as well as a unique chemical/phase composition defined by laser synthesis conditions and the reactivity of the surrounding liquid. Hybrid nanomaterials (nanohybrids) composed of different elements properly arranged at the nanoscale to improve the basic nanomaterial functionality are the focus of many state-of-the-art studies on PLAL [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ].…”