Hybrid gadolinium oxide nanoparticles combining imaging and therapy

The cytotoxicity of luminescent paramagnetic gadolinium oxide nanoparticles activated by harmless thermal neutron irradiation was evaluated on a luciferase coding gene transfected lymphome cells (EL4-Luc). Cellular uptake of nanoparticles was determined by fluorescence and magnetic resonance imaging and by ICP-MS analyses while the metabolic activity of irradiated EL4-Luc cells was monitored by bioluminescence. The alteration of the irradiated cells depends both on neutron irradiation dose and on gadolinium content within cells. In addition to their dual modality imaging ability, the application of these multifunctional particles for neutron capture therapy can be envisaged.