A New Generation of Ultrasmall Nanoparticles Inducing Sensitization to Irradiation and Copper Depletion to Overcome Radioresistant and Invasive Cancers

An emerging target to overcome cancer resistance to treatments is copper, which is upregulated in a wide variety of tumors and may be associated with cancer progression and metastases. The aim of this study was to develop a multimodal ultrasmall nanoparticle, CuPRiX, based on the clinical AGuIX nanoparticle made of the polysiloxane matrix on which gadolinium chelates are grafted. Such hybrid nanoparticles allow: (i) a localized depletion of copper in tumors to prevent tumor cell dissemination and metastasis formation and (ii) an increased sensitivity of the tumor to radiotherapy (RT) due to the presence of high Z gadolinium (Gd) atoms. CuPRiX nanoparticles are obtained by controlled acidification of AGuIX nanoparticles. They were evaluated in vitro on two cancer cell lines (lung and head and neck) using the scratch-wound assay and clonogenic cell survival assay. They were able to reduce cell migration and invasion and displayed radiosensitizing properties.