Hyperthermic effect of multi-walled carbon nanotubes stimulated with near infrared irradiation for anticancer therapy: in vitro studies

Abstract

It is proposed to use the novel paradigm of treating cancer with hyperthermic therapy using multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) stimulated with near infrared (NIR) irradiation. Aim: To establish the capacity of MWCNT stimulated with NIR irradiation to destroy Erlich ascitic carcinoma (EAC) cells. Materials and Methods: EAC cells suspension was irradiated with NIR heating lamp with a wavelength of 0.78–1.40 mm and power density of 3.5 W/cm2 over 1.5 min in the presence of MWCNT (0.1 mg/ml). The changes in the temperature of suspension with the NIR exposure time was measured using the differential cooper-constantan thermocouple. The viability of EAC cells was evaluated by trypan blue staining. Results: The death of 95.2% of EAC cells in the presence of MWCNT was observed after 1.5 min of NIR light irradiation: thermal ablation temperature was ~50 °C. Conclusions: It was demonstrated that addition of MWCNT to EAC cell suspension results in the photo-ablative destruction of cells exposed to short time NIR irradiation.