In vitro cytotoxicity of Fe-Cr-Nb-B magnetic nanoparticles under high frequency electromagnetic field

The heating potential, cytotoxicity, and efficiency of Fe68.2Cr11.5Nb0.3B20 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), as such or coated with a chitosan layer, to decrease the cell viability in a cancer cell culture model by using high frequency alternating magnetic fields (AMF) have been studied. The specific absorption rate varied from 215 Wig for chitosan-free MNPs to about 190 Wig for chitosan-coated ones, and an equilibrium temperature of 46 degrees C was reached when chitosan-coated MNPs were subjected to AMF. The chitosan-free Fe68.2Cr11.5Nb0.3B20 MNPs proved a good biocompatibility and low cytotoxicity in all testing conditions, while the chitosan-coated ones induced strong tumoricidal effects when a cell-particle simultaneous co-incubation approach was used. In high frequency AMF, the particle-mediated heat treatment has proved to be a critical cause for decreasing in vitro the viability of a cancer cell line. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.