Hyperthermia Cancer Therapy Using Poly(ethylene glycol)-Based Magnetic Hydrogel Nanocomposites

This research studies the use of hydrogel nanocomposites consisting of poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate and poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate (PEGMMA/PEGDMA) containing iron oxide nanoparticles for thermal cancer therapy applications. Hyperthermia is defined as the heating of cancerous tissues to between 40 and 45°C, and when used in conjunction with other cancer therapeutics such as radiation and chemotherapy, hyperthermia has been shown to improve the treatment success rate. The magnetic nanoparticles in these hydrogel nanocomposites give the system the ability to be remotely heated using an external alternating magnetic field. In addition, the ability to control the swelling properties of these systems provides control over drug delivery properties. Previous swelling analysis studies indicate that systems with lower crosslinking density have a higher volume swelling ratio. Heating studies using an alternating magnetic field show that the heating of these nanocomposites is dependent on both the amount of iron oxide loading in the gel and the strength of the alternating magnetic field. This research demonstrates that these hydrogel nanocomposite systems can be a successful thermal cancer therapeutic through showing that M059K glioblastoma cells can be killed selectively in vitro using hydrogel nanocomposite systems.