Induced effects by direct exposure to ionizing radiation (IR) are a central issue in many fields like radiation protection, clinic diagnosis and oncological therapies. Direct irradiation at certain doses induce cell death, but similar effects can als
o occur in cells no directly exposed to IR, a mechanism known as bystander effect. Non-IR (radiofrequency waves) can induce the death of cells loaded with MNPs in a focused oncological therapy known as magnetic hyperthermia. Indirect mechanisms are also able to induce the death of unloaded MNPs cells. Using in vitro cell models, we found that colocalization of the MNPs at the lysosomes and the non-increase of the temperature induces bystander effect under non-IR. Our results provide a landscape in which bystander effects are a more general mechanism, up to now only observed and clinically used in the field of radiotherapy.
We have studied the magnetic and power absorption properties of a series of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) of Fe3O4 with average sizes <d> ranging from 3 to 26 nm. Heating experiments as a function of particle size revealed a strong increase in the sp
ecific power absorption (SPA) values for particles with <d> = 25-30 nm. On the other side saturation magnetization MS values of these MNPs remain essentially constant for particles with <d> above 10 nm, suggesting that the absorption mechanism is not determined by MS. The largest SPA value obtained was 130 W/g, corresponding to a bimodal particle distribution with average size values of 17 and 26 nm.
We present results on structural and magnetic properties of highly crystalline alpha-Fe2O3 nanoparticles of average size ~200 nm, synthesized from a novel sol-gel method using metal alkoxide precursor. These particles are multi-domain, showing the we
ak ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic (WF-AF) transition (i.e., the Morin transition) at T_M = 256(2) K. Mossbauer measurements revealed a jump in hyperfine parameters at T ~ T_M, which also displays thermal hysteresis upon cooling or heating the sample. The analysis of hyperfine parameters as a function of temperature allowed us to discard temperature gradients as well as the coexistence of WF/AF phases as possible origins of this hysteretic behaviour. Instead, the hysteresis can be qualitatively explained by the small size and high-crystallinity of the particles, which hinder the nucleation of the WF or AF phases yielding metastable states beyond TM.
We present X-ray diffraction (XRD), Mossbauer spectroscopy (MS) and d.c. magnetization measurements performed on ball-milled CuFe2O4 samples. The average particle size <d> was found to decrease to the nanometer range after t=15 min of milling. Room t
emperature Mossbauer data showed that the fraction of particles above the blocking temperature TB increases with milling time, and almost complete superparamagnetic samples are obtained for <d> = 7(2) nm. Magnetization measurements below TB suggest spin canting in milled samples. The values of saturation moment mu_S reveal that site populations are slightly affected by milling. Mossbauer resonant intensities are accounted for on the basis of local disorder of Fe3+ environments, and the development of sample inhomogeneities of CuxFe3-xO4 composition.
Pure ultrafine ZnFe2O4 particles have been obtained from mechanosynthesis of the ZnO and Fe2O3 oxides. The average grain diameter was estimated from x-ray diffraction to be <d> = 36(6) nm. Refinement of neutron diffraction (ND) data showed that the r
esulting cubic spinel structure is oxygen-deficient, with ~7% of Fe3+ ions occupying the tetrahedral A sites. Magnetization curves taken at 4.2 K showed absence of saturation up to fields H = 9 Tesla, associated to a spin-canted produced by the milling process. Field-cooled (FC) and zero-field-cooled (ZFC) curves showed irreversible behavior extending well above room temperature, which is associated to spin disorder. Annealing samples at 300 {deg}C yields an average grain size <d> = 50(6) nm, and ~16% of Fe3+ ions at A sites. Partial oxygen recovery is also deduced from neutron data refinement in annealed samples. Concurrently, decrease of magnetic irreversibility is noticed, assigned to partial recovery of the collinear spin structure. Complex Mossbauer spectra were observed at room temperature and 80 K, with broad hyperfine field distributions spanning from ~10 T to ~40 T. At T = 4.2 K, hyperfine field distributions indicate high disorder in Fe local environments. The above data suggest the existence of Fe-rich clusters, yielding strong superexchange interactions between Fe ions at A and B sites of the spinel structure.
Magnetic hyperthermia is currently an EU-approved clinical therapy against tumor cells that uses magnetic nanoparticles under a time varying magnetic field (TVMF). The same basic principle seems promising against trypanosomatids causing Chagas diseas
e and sleeping sickness, since therapeutic drugs available display severe side effects and drug-resistant strains. However, no applications of this strategy against protozoan-induced diseases have been reported so far. In the present study, Crithidia fasciculata, a widely used model for therapeutic strategies against pathogenic trypanosomatids, was targeted with Fe_{3}O_{4} magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) in order to remotely provoke cell death using TVMFs. The MNPs with average sizes of d approx. 30 nm were synthesized using a precipitation of FeSO_{4}4 in basic medium. The MNPs were added to Crithidia fasciculata choanomastigotes in exponential phase and incubated overnight. The amount of uploaded MNPs per cell was determined by magnetic measurements. Cell viability using the MTT colorimetric assay and flow cytometry showed that the MNPs were incorporated by the cells with no noticeable cell-toxicity effects. When a TVMF (f = 249 kHz, H = 13 kA/m) was applied to MNP-bearing cells, massive cell death was induced via a non-apoptotic mechanism. No effects were observed by applying a TVMF on control (without loaded MNPs) cells. No macroscopic rise in temperature was observed in the extracellular medium during the experiments. Scanning Electron Microscopy showed morphological changes after TVMF experiments. These data indicate (as a proof of principle) that intracellular hyperthermia is a suitable technology to induce the specific death of protozoan parasites bearing MNPs. These findings expand the possibilities for new therapeutic strategies that combat parasitic infections.
The magnetic behavior of polycrystalline yttrium orthoferrite was studied from the experimental and theoretical points of view. Magnetization measurements up to 170 kOe were carried out on a single-phase YFeO3 sample synthesized from heterobimetallic
alkoxides. The complex interplay between weak-ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions, observed in the experimental M(H) curves, was successfully simulated by locally minimizing the magnetic energy of two interacting Fe sublattices. The resulting values of exchange field (H_E = 5590 kOe), anisotropy field (H_A = 0.5 kOe) and Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya antisymmetric field (H_D = 149 kOe) are in good agreement with previous reports on this system.
