Synergic Temperature Effect of Star-like Monodisperse Iron Oxide Nanoparticles and Their Related Responses in Normal and Cancer Cells.

Magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) anisotropy has been tailored by the preparation of MNPs having different shapes (star-like, cubic, and polyhedral) using a self-modified rapid hot-injection process. The surface modification of MNPs was performed through etidronic ligand grafting with a strong binding affinity to mixed metal oxides, ensuring sufficient colloidal stability, surface protection, and minimized aggregation and interparticle interactions. The heating effect was induced by contactless external stimulation through the action of an alternating magnetic field and NIR laser radiation (808 nm). The efficacy of the energy conversion was evaluated as a function of the particle shape, concentration, and external stimuli parameters. In turn, the most efficient star-like particles have been selected to study their response in contact with normal and cancer cells. It was found that the star-like MNPs (Fe 3 O 4 SL-NPs) at 2 mg/mL concentration induce necrosis and significantly alter cell cycle progression, while 0.5 mg/mL can stimulate the antioxidative and anti-inflammatory response in normal cells. A biologically relevant heating effect leading to heat-mediated cell death was achieved at a 2 mg/mL concentration of star-like particles and was enhanced by the addition of ascorbic acid (AA). AA-mediated photomagnetic hyperthermia can lead to the modulation of the heat-shock response in cancer cells that depends on the genotypic and phenotypic variations of cell lines.