An efficient magnetic system has been developed with newly synthesised nanocrystalline cobalt chromite magnetic nanoparticles that can treat cancer by increasing the temperature of tumour cells through a procedure called magnetic hyperthermia for treating cancer.

Cancer has been considered one of the most threatening diseases for humanity. Of several available treatment methods, the most effective treatments for cancerous cells are radiation therapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and stem cell transplant. All of the cancer treatment methods have demonstrated multiple side effects.

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Chemotherapy and radiation treatments can lead to nausea, exhaustion, hair loss, and an elevated risk of infection. Although targeted medicines have demonstrated efficacy, they may not be appropriate for all cancer forms and may require following specific conditions. Most cancer treatments are costly and hence may be inaccessible to many. 

Nanomagnets have opened up a targeted heat generation process, i.e. hyperthermia, that can be used in treating cancer cells with comparatively less side effects and is controlled by the magnetic field from outside. Tuning the physical properties of nanomagnets is essential to make them usable for hyperthermia applications. Due to the direct impact of various physical parameters of nanomagnets on the self-heating efficacy, it is challenging to create and control bio-friendly coated magnetic nanoparticles with an effective heat generation efficiency.

A team of scientists from the Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology, led by Prof Devasish Chowdhury, in collaboration with NIT Nagaland, synthesised nanocrystalline cobalt chromite magnetic nanoparticles with varying rare-earth Gd dopant contents using the conventional chemical co-precipitation route.

These magnetic nanoparticles, inhomogeneous in fluid form, were used further to generate heat under the applied alternating magnetic field. The heat generation method of magnetic nanoparticles can be used in treating cancer cells by elevating the cell temperature up to 46 degrees C for a specific duration, causing necrosis in the injured cells when applied to particular cancer locations. Thus, superparamagnetic nanoparticles act as nano-heaters and can potentially be utilised in magnetic hyperthermia applications for treating cancer and offering an alternative cancer therapy.

This research by the team consisting of Dr Mritunjoy Prasad Ghosh, National Post-Doctoral Fellow and Rahul Sonkar, research scholar from IASST Guwahati, was recently published in Nanoscale Advances, a peer-reviewed journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry in the UK.