Synergetic Effects of the Combination of Gold Nanoparticles and Ultrasound Wave on HeLa Cells

Introduction: One of the combination therapies for the treatment of cancer is ultrasound with other agents, which has received considerable attention in recent years. Ultrasound causes cavitation phenomenon that can produce some effects, such as; Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), which results in damage to cancer cells. When a particle is in liquid, the cavitation threshold decreases due to its surface roughness. Gold nanoparticles have attracted lots of attention due to some distinct advantages including; biocompatibilities, special optical properties, good uptake by cells and high atomic number. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate combination effects of ultrasound at the presence of gold nanoparticles on the HeLa cells. Materials and Methods: Gold nanoparticles with different concentrations (0.2, 1 and 5 μg/ml) were used. The characterizations of nanoparticles were analyzed using TEM, DLS and UV-vis. The HeLa cells were divided into 4 groups. (1) Control, (2) Gold nanoparticles, (3) Ultrasound waves alone (4) Gold nanoparticles + ultrasound waves. The effect of nanoparticle and ultrasound waves alone as well as a combination of ultrasound waves with nanoparticles at different concentration of Gold nanoparticles and intensity of ultrasound on cell viability for 24, 48 and 72 h after the experiment were estimated by MTT assay. Results: Results showed that the enhancement effect was depending on the intensity of ultrasound waves and the concentration of gold nanoparticles. The combination of ultrasound with gold nanoparticles did not show synergetic effects at 24 h, as opposed to 48 h and 72 h. As expected, the most synergetic effect was observed at high intensities of ultrasound wave and high concentrations of gold nanoparticles in incubation 72 h. Conclusion: The study findings suggested that gold nanoparticles could be used as an enhancement agent in order to treat HeLa cells by ultrasound waves.