Magneto-mechanical therapeutic effects and associated cell death pathways of magnetic nanocomposites with distinct geometries

Chenyang Yao; Fang Yang; Jiaji Zhang; Junlie Yao; Yi Cao; Hao Peng; Stefan G Stanciu; Costas A Charitidis; Aiguo Wu

doi:10.1016/j.actbio.2023.02.033

Magneto-mechanical therapeutic effects and associated cell death pathways of magnetic nanocomposites with distinct geometries

Acta Biomater. 2023 Apr 15:161:238-249. doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2023.02.033. Epub 2023 Feb 28.

Authors

Chenyang Yao¹, Fang Yang², Jiaji Zhang³, Junlie Yao¹, Yi Cao¹, Hao Peng¹, Stefan G Stanciu⁴, Costas A Charitidis⁵, Aiguo Wu⁶

Affiliations

¹ Cixi Institute of Biomedical Engineering, International Cooperation Base of Biomedical Materials Technology and Application, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Key Laboratory of Magnetic Materials and Devices, Zhejiang Engineering Research Center for Biomedical Materials, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, CAS, Ningbo 315201, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
² Cixi Institute of Biomedical Engineering, International Cooperation Base of Biomedical Materials Technology and Application, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Key Laboratory of Magnetic Materials and Devices, Zhejiang Engineering Research Center for Biomedical Materials, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, CAS, Ningbo 315201, China; Advanced Energy Science and Technology Guangdong Laboratory, Huizhou 516000, China. Electronic address: yangf@nimte.ac.cn.
³ Cixi Institute of Biomedical Engineering, International Cooperation Base of Biomedical Materials Technology and Application, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Key Laboratory of Magnetic Materials and Devices, Zhejiang Engineering Research Center for Biomedical Materials, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, CAS, Ningbo 315201, China.
⁴ Center for Microscopy-Microanalysis and Information Processing, University Politehnica of Bucharest, Bucharest 060042, Romania.
⁵ RNANO Lab-Research Unit of Advanced, Composite, Nano Materials & Nanotechnology, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, GR15773 Athens, Greece.
⁶ Cixi Institute of Biomedical Engineering, International Cooperation Base of Biomedical Materials Technology and Application, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Key Laboratory of Magnetic Materials and Devices, Zhejiang Engineering Research Center for Biomedical Materials, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, CAS, Ningbo 315201, China; Advanced Energy Science and Technology Guangdong Laboratory, Huizhou 516000, China. Electronic address: aiguo@nimte.ac.cn.

PMID: 36858162
DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2023.02.033

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed important developments in the emerging field of magneto-mechanical therapies. While such approaches have been demonstrated as a highly efficient route to augment, complement, or entirely replace other therapeutic strategies, important aspects are still poorly understood. Among these, the dependence between the cell death pathway and the geometry of magnetic nanocomposites enabling magneto-mechanical therapies under a low-frequency rotating magnetic field (RMF) is yet to be deciphered. To provide insights into this important problem, we evaluate the cell death pathway for two magnetic nanocomposites with highly distinct geometries: Zn_0.2Fe_2.8O₄-PLGA magnetic nanospheres (MNSs) and Zn_0.2Fe_2.8O₄-PLGA magnetic nanochains (MNCs). We show that under exposure to an RMF, the MNSs and the MNCs exhibit a corkscrewed circular propulsion mode and a steering propulsion mode, respectively. This distinct behavior, with important implications for the associated magneto-mechanical forces exerted by these nanomaterials on surrounding structures (e.g., the cellular membrane), depends on their specific geometries. Next, using numerical simulations and cell viability experiments, we demonstrate that the field strength of the RMF and the rotating speed of the MNSs or MNCs have strong implications for their magneto-mechanical therapeutic performance. Last, we reveal that the magneto-mechanical effects of MNSs are more prone to induce cell apoptosis, whereas those of the MNCs favor instead cell necrosis. Overall, this work enhances the current understanding of the dependences existing between the magneto-mechanical therapeutic effects of magnetic nanocomposites with different geometries and associated cell death pathways, paving the way for novel functionalization routes which could enable significantly enhanced cures and biomedical tools. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE.

Keywords: Apoptosis; Magnetic nanochains; Magnetic nanoparticles; Magneto-mechanical force; Necrosis.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Apoptosis
Cell Death
Magnetic Fields
Magnetics*
Nanocomposites* / chemistry