Magnetic Nanoparticles for Targeted Cancer Diagnosis, Therapy, and Personalized Treatment

Hazima Tariq; Muhammad Sohail Khan; Abdul Ghani Iqbal; Sadikun Nabi; Nusara Khan; Ayesha Saeed

doi:10.70749/ijbr.v3i8.2140

Authors

Hazima Tariq University of Sialkot, Pakistan.
Muhammad Sohail Khan Department of Chemistry, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University, Sheringal, Pakistan. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9909-6679
Abdul Ghani Iqbal Dow Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan.
Sadikun Nabi Combined Military Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Nusara Khan Institute of Physics, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
Ayesha Saeed Department of Chemistry, GC University Faisalabad, Sahiwal Campus, Punjab, Pakistan.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.70749/ijbr.v3i8.2140

Keywords:

magnetic nanoparticles, superparamagnetic iron oxide, MRI relaxometry, magnetic targeting, magnetothermal therapy, ferroptosis, nanotheranostics, lymph-node staging

Abstract

We conducted a prospective, controlled preclinical study of anti-EGFR–targeted superparamagnetic iron-oxide nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄ core with silica interlayer and PEG shell), including a doxorubicin-loaded therapeutic variant, to test imageable delivery and treatment. Mice bearing A431 tumors received IV nanoparticles; magnetic targeting used a ~0.5 T neodymium array (≈15 T/m gradient), magnetothermal activation used an alternating magnetic field (~300 kHz, 10–15 kA/m, 30 min). MRI at 3 T (plus 0.064 T) with multi-echo GRE provided R₂* maps; phantom calibration converted R₂* to tissue iron; ICP-MS served as reference; analyses were performed in SPSS. Magnetic guidance increased intratumoral iron ~2.1–2.9× at 1 h and 24 h by both MRI and ICP-MS (e.g., 1 h MRI 17.8 vs 6.2 µg Fe/g; ICP-MS 18.4 vs 6.6). Imaging quality improved (tumor CNR 6.1 → 14.8 at 1 h; small-lesion <3 mm detection 85%), and node-level performance versus histology was high (sensitivity 87.5%, specificity 88.5%, AUC 0.92). Therapeutically, outcomes progressed from standard care to untargeted MNP-dox to targeted MNP-dox and were best with targeting + hyperthermia (tumor volume change +210% → −10%, median survival 28 → 54 days), with rising TUNEL and 4-HNE signals and manageable safety labs. These results indicate that the same particles can measure (quantitative MRI), steer/activate (magnetic targeting ± hyperthermia), and treat, enabling image-guided selection and adaptive dosing for personalized nanotheranostics.

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