Hyperthermia Effects in the Presence of Gold Nanoparticles Together with Chemotherapy on Saos-2 Cell Line

Introduction: Hyperthermia created by microwave (MW), infrared, ultrasound and other methods, is often utilized as an adjuvant to sensitize cancer cells to the effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. We investigated the efficacy of hyperthermia using MW in synergy with chemotherapy in the presence and absence and gold nanoparticles (GNPs). Material and Methods: After culturing and proliferation of the Saos-2 cell line derived from human osteogenic sarcoma, the cells were incubated at two concentrations of GNPs in two diameters of 20 and 40 nm and in the absence and presence of doxorubicin in different groups. Forty eight hours after irradiating the cells with MW up to a temperature of 42°C, cell survival rate was determined using the MTT method, in order to study the effectiveness of the therapeutic parameters. Results: Cell survival in the presence of GNPs was greater than 95%. After chemotherapy by doxorubicin with and without 40 nm GNPs, cell survival rates were determined as 62.8% and 37.1%, declining down to 17% and 4.1% respectively following the combined treatment with MW and chemotherapy in the presence of 20 and 40 nm GNPs. Discussion and Conclusions: GNPs did not induce any cytotoxicity by themselves; their presence along with MW provided a reduction in survival rate that was comparable in severity with the lethal effects of doxorubicin. MW hyperthermia with GNPs produced a higher treatment efficiency in comparison to similar groups in which GNPs were absent. The synergism observed between hyperthermia and chemotherapy was dependent in GNPs' size and concentration. This finding could be caused by increased uptake of doxorubicin by the cells in the presence of GNPs.