Dual roles of Curcumin Encapsulated Alginate/­Fe3O4 Nanoparticles in MRI Enhancement and Hyperthermia for Cancer Treatment

Background: Magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) nanoparticles (MNPs) had a high potential in biomedical application, including hyperthermia and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The combination of MNPs and curcumin has been reported to have synergetic effect on cancer cell death. In this study, we aimed to identify the bioactivities of the nanoconjugates composed of superparamagnetic Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles coated by alginate and curcumin (Fe 3 O 4 /Cur@ALG) on cancer cells in both in vitro and in vivo models. Results The results showed that Fe 3 O 4 /Cur@ALG NPs enhanced the contrast of MRI in cell culture and Swiss mice bearing tumor. The autofluorescence signal of curcumin revealed the penetration of the nanoparticles into Sarcoma cells. Besides, this nanoconjugate synergistically inhibited the growth of Sarcoma 180 tumor through the magnetic heating and the anti-cancer effect of curcumin. These MNPs had had high biocompatibility with a low toxicity on mice at the concentration of Fe 3 O 4 up to 120 mg/kg. Histological analysis indicated that the MNPs presented in the liver tissue, but not in the kidney, with the increase of AST value. Interestingly, Fe 3 O 4 /Cur@ALG NPs were cleared from blood after more than 10 minutes. Conclusion Our study revealed that Fe 3 O 4 /Cur@ALG had a high potential in medicinal application and should be further developed to use in cancer diagnosis and treatment.