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20.109(F12): Laboratory Fundamentals of Biological Engineering

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Coyin Oh & Joanna Yeh
(T/R Green)

Title of Proposed Project


Project Summary

Magnetic hyperthermia is an attractive cancer therapy due to its specificity and low toxicity to surrounding healthy tissue. However, this treatment currently struggles with low heat generation due to low local concentration of magnetic nanoparticles around the tumor site. The proposed study would investigate complexes composed of various phages and magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) to increase the local concentration and hence the efficacy of magnetic hyperthermia.


The field of magnetic hyperthermia has attracted a lot of attention in the past thirty years as an alternative cancer therapy method. Magnetic hyperthermia proposes the placement of magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) in tumor cells under an alternating magnetic field. Nanoparticles often have unique physical and chemical properties that can be varied based on size and shape. MNPs are no different; these nanoparticles are superparamagnetic, gaining magnetic properties in the presence of a magnetic field. As the direction of the magnetic field alternates, MNPs undergo magnetic hysteresis losses that are dissipated to local surroundings as thermal energy. Targeted sites are usually heated to temperatures between 42 and 45 C to cause cell damage or death. A mean challenge with magnetic hyperthermia is the localization of MNPs to targeted tumor cells. It is possible for MNPs to circulate through the bloodstream and not reach the intended targeted sites. In addition, they at times are internalized and absorbed by the endoplasmic reticulum system of the cells. <ref> Giustini AJ, Petryk AA, Cassim SM, Tate JA, Baker I, and Hoopes PJ. Magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia in cancer treatment. Nano LIFE 2010; 01: 17 </ref> This low efficiency of MNP transport calls for a higher applied dosage of MNPs. How can we concentrate MNPs within tumor cells to produce sufficient heat for complete cell apoptosis?


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  2. Gupta AK, Naregalkar RR, Vaidya VD, and Gupta M. Recent advances on surface engineering of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles and their biomedical applications. Future Medicine 2007; 2(1): 23-39.
  3. Bakoglidis KD, Simeonidis K, Sakellari D, Stefanou G, and Angelakeris M. Size-Dependent Mechanisms in AC Magnetic Hyperthermia Response of Iron-Oxide Nanoparticles. IEEE Transactions on Magnetics 2012; 48:1320-1323.

Your idea

Our proposed project aims to employ viral magnetic nanoparticles to increase the efficacy of magnetic hyperthermia. Viral MNP complexes consist of MNPs attached to viruses that have minimal harmful effects to humans. While the medical applications of viral MNPs has been studied for over a decade now, their functions have been mostly limited to in vivo MRI imaging and targeted gene delivery. Using viral MNPs, we are essentially providing a scaffold for the binding of MNP and a vehicle for the concentrated transport of MNPs to target sites. This way, we are reducing the number of MNPs that are "wasted" from getting internalized or circulated in the bloodstream without arriving at the appropriate target sites. Our approach can potentially increase the concentration of MNPs in targeted tumor cells, thereby achieving the level of heat necessary for effective cell apoptosis yet at the same time, lowering the minimum MNP dosage required for the treatment.

We hypothesize that our engineered viral MNPs can increase the current efficacy of magnetic hyperthermia. This will be measured in terms of tumor cell death per mass of MNPs used. Our general preliminary approach involves five stages:

Stage 1: Virus Hunt


Stage 2: Screening for MNP binding site on virus




Stage 4: Virus engineering


Stage 5: in vivo testing


Currently, the greatest efficacy of magnetic hyperthermia is approximately 60% (mass of MNP accumulated in tumor cells / mass of MNP injected into the body), as demonstrated by the Hoopes group when aided by a 10Gy radiation. Our hope is that our engineered viral particle will be capable of achieving similar if not higher efficacy, preferably in the 45-80% range.

A sketch

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