Synthesis and in vitro characterization of superparamagnetic γ-Fe2O3-containing 13-93 bioactive glasses for bone cancer therapy

Osteosarcoma is one of the most common types of bone cancer, which generally starts in the long bones. In this study, superparamagnetic maghemite-containing (2, 5, 10, 20 wt%) bioactive glass powders were prepared for the treatment of osteosarcoma. For this purpose, maghemite nanoparticles were synthesized using the co -precipitation technique, and maghemite-containing bioactive glass-ceramic composites were fabricated through the sol-gel process. The structural, morphological, thermal, and magnetic properties and the in vitro bioactivity of the prepared bioactive glasses were investigated. In vitro cytotoxicity was examined using SaOS-2 and MC3T3-E1 cells. The fluorouracil (5-FU) release behavior of the studied bioactive glass powders was also monitored in phosphate-buffered saline as a function of time. Results revealed that synthesized maghemite nanoparticles as well as the maghemite-containing bioactive glass-ceramic composites have superparamagnetic properties. They have high bioactivity, with up to 5 wt% maghemite content. Prepared bioactive glass com-posites have no cytotoxicity against osteosarcoma and pre-osteoblast cells at low concentrations. Drug-loaded bioactive glass powder showed sustained release behavior. Overall results indicated that prepared glass com-posites have a high potential to be used in magnetic hyperthermia and anticancer drug release applications for the treatment of bone cancer.

Automated summary

In this study, superparamagnetic maghemite-containing bioactive glass powders were prepared for the treatment of osteosarcoma. The results showed that the prepared glass composites have superparamagnetic properties and high bioactivity, with no cytotoxicity against osteosarcoma and pre-osteoblast cells. The drug-loaded glass powder also exhibited sustained release behavior.