Evaluation of radiosensitization effects by platinum nanodendrites for 6 MV photon beam radiotherapy

Therapeutic effects of high Z based nanoparticles have been the subject of growing interest to enhance the radiotherapy efficacy. In this study, platinum nanodendrites (PtNDs) were synthesized via chemical reduction method and characterized to be suitable for application as radiosensitizer. Cytotoxicity test on different sizes and concentration of PtNDs were conducted in-vitro on HeLa cells. Radiosensitization effects were measured by clonogenic cell survival assay at 0.1 mM PtNDs concentration irradiated under 6 MV photon beams. PtNDs show excellent biocompatibility and exhibit radiosensitization for all sizes. The Sensitization Enhancement Ratio (SER) quantified for 29, 36, 42 and 52 nm PtNDs are 1.96, 2.31, 2.27 and 1.77 respectively. The SER obtained depicts a dependency of radiosensitization effects on PtNDs sizes. In conclusion, these results demonstrate the potential applicability of PtNDs as novel radiosensitizer in radiotherapy particularly for treatment using megavoltage photon beams. •PtNDs are non toxic toward HeLa cell line up to 0.1 mM concentration.•PtNDs shows significant radiosensitization effects after irradiation with a 6 MV photon beam.•The radiosensitization effect is dependent on the PtNDs sizes.