Design of an imaging magnetic microsphere based on photopolymerization for magnetic hyperthermia in tumor therapy

Magnetic hyperthermia therapy has been widely used in the nonsurgical treatment of patients with advanced stage cancers that cannot be treated by surgery. It is minimally invasive, precise, and highly efficient and has a good curative effect. In this paper, a magnetic microsphere with Fe 3 O 4 was prepared for thermal therapy and imaging based on a photoinitiated suspension polymerization method from biallelic monomers. The preparation method clearly minimized the degradative chain transfer of allyl polymerization reactions. The microspheres were characterized by microscope observation, spectral analysis, thermal analysis, and magnetic testing. The magnetothermal effect was detected by an infrared thermal imager in vitro and in vivo under a high-frequency alternating magnetic field (AMF). The antitumor effect was verified by testing the viability of H 22 cells and observing a tumor-bearing mouse model under high-frequency AMF. Biocompatibility was evaluated by cell viability assay, tissue section observation, and blood biochemical analysis. The imaging capacity was tested by X-ray, MRI, and CT imaging experiments. The results show that the product has good dispersibility, thermal stability, superparamagnetism, and biocompatibility. Under the action of an AMF, the magnetic hyperthermia effect in tumor-bearing mice was better, and an antitumor effect could be achieved. Graphical Abstract