The effects of bismuth oxide nanoparticles and cisplatin on MCF-7 breast cancer cells irradiated with Ir-192 High Dose Rate brachytherapy

Multimodal strategies of cancer treatment such as chemoradiotherapy aim to eradicate complex malignant diseases with enhanced therapeutic outcome. This study aimed to investigate the effects of bismuth oxide nanoparticles (BiONPs) and cisplatin (Cis) (BC) under gamma irradiation from Ir-192 of clinical High Dose Rate (HDR) brachytherapy. The cells irradiations were performed using 0.38 MeV Iridium-192 HDR Brachytherapy source with doses of 0–4 Gy in a single fraction. Apoptosis analyses were conducted using flow cytometry and subcellular biochemical changes were evaluated using Raman spectroscopy. The percentage of apoptosis of MCF- 7 breast cancer cells with BC indicated an increment with early apoptosis were more predominant compared to late apoptotic cells. The cells population profile also shown cells shrinkage and cellular membrane damages for BC treated cells after brachytherapy. Subcellular biochemical changes were detected which involved the glycolysis process, the disarrangement of the amino acid structure and DNA/RNA disintegration that might be associated with cells death mechanism. This study demonstrated that the BiONPs-Cis (BC) can potentially enhanced radiation effects of brachytherapy due to the potent synergetic effects that will progressively enhance the therapeutic impact of cancer treatment.