Reducing bone cancer cell functions using selenium nanocomposites

Abstract

Cancer recurrence at the site of tumor resection remains a major threat to patient survival despite modern cancer therapeutic advances. Osteosarcoma, in particular, is a very aggressive primary bone cancer that commonly recurs after surgical resection, radiation, and chemotherapeutic treatment. The objective of the present in vitro study was to develop a material that could decrease bone cancer cell recurrence while promoting healthy bone cell functions. Selenium is a natural part of our diet which has shown promise for reducing cancer cell functions, inhibiting bacteria, and promoting healthy cells functions, yet, it has not been widely explored for osteosarcoma applications. For this purpose, due to their increased surface area, selenium nanoparticles (SeNP) were precipitated on a very common orthopedic tissue engineering material, poly-l-lactic acid (or PLLA). Selenium-coated PLLA materials were shown to selectively decrease long-term osteosarcoma cell density while promoting healthy, noncancerous, osteoblast functions (for example, up to two times more alkaline phosphatase activity on selenium coated compared to osteoblasts grown on typical tissue culture plates), suggesting they should be further studied for replacing tumorous bone tissue with healthy bone tissue. Importantly, results of this study were achieved without the use of chemotherapeutics or pharmaceutical agents, which have negative side effects.

Poly (lactic acid)-based biomaterials for orthopaedic regenerative engineering

“…One recent study indicated a significant decrease in long term proliferation of osteoblast-like sarcoma cells, while the proliferation of osteoblasts were two times higher, indicating the dual purpose of these nanoparticles. Additionally such superior performance was realized without the use of chemotherapeutics or any drugs [213]. These studies demonstrated not only their capability to induce osteogenesis via electrical, mechanical stimulation, but also simultaneously provide/stimulate anti-microbial/fungal functionalities to the scaffolds.…”

A Summary of New Findings on the Biological Effects of Selenium in Selected Animal Species—A Critical Review

“…Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element [ 1 , 2 ] that evinces antioxidant activity [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ], anti-inflammatory [ 2 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ], antimutagenic [ 26 , 27 ], anticarcinogenic [ 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ] or chemopreventive [ 2 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 ], antiviral [ 2 ], antibacterial [ 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 ], antifungal [ 49 , 50 ] and antiparasitic effects [ 51 ,…”

pH-Controlled Cerium Oxide Nanoparticle Inhibition of Both Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacteria Growth

“…The application of nanotechnology into biology has opened up immense opportunities in many areas, including tissue engineering3, drug delivery4, diagnostics5, imaging6, and fighting bacterial infections7. With the emerging need for novel antimicrobial agents, nanoparticles have been proposed to treat infections as they utilize different mechanisms for killing bacteria than conventional antibiotics, making them promising candidates to overcome current issues we are facing with antibiotic drug resistant bacteria8.…”