Platinum nanoparticles: an exquisite tool to overcome radioresistance

BACKGROUD: Small metallic nanoparticles are proposed as potential nanodrugs to optimize the performances of radiotherapy. This strategy, based on the enrichment of tumours with nanoparticles to amplify radiation effects in the tumour, aims at increasing the cytopathic effect in tumours while healthy tissue is preserved, an important challenge in radiotherapy. Another major cause of radiotherapy failure is the radioresistance of certain cancers. Surprisingly, the use of nanoparticles to overcome radioresistance has not, to the best of our knowledge, been extensively investigated. The mechanisms of radioresistance have been extensively studied using Deinococcus radiodurans, the most radioresistant organism ever reported, as a model. METHODS: In this work, we investigated the impact of ultra-small platinum nanoparticles (1.7 nm) on this organism, including uptake, toxicity, and effects on radiation responses. RESULTS: We showed that the nanoparticles penetrate D. radiodurans cells, despite the 150 nm cell wall thickness with a minimal inhibition concentration on the order of 4.8 mg L(−1). We also found that the nanoparticles amplify gamma ray radiation effects by >40%. CONCLUSIONS: Finally, this study demonstrates the capacity of metallic nanoparticles to amplify radiation in radioresistant organisms, thus opening the perspective to use nanoparticles not only to improve tumour targeting but also to overcome radioresistance. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12645-017-0028-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.