Research Information System
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR STRUCTURE, vol.1354, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
Cancer is one of the most common diseases that causes death, and chemotherapy is one of the effective ways to treat cancer clinically. Conventional chemotherapy, however, struggles to distinguish between cancerous and normal cells, which can cause patients to suffer serious side effects. Additionally, their distribution in tumor tissue cannot be monitored in real-time because conventional chemotherapeutic drugs cannot be directly observed in the body. It is therefore imperative to develop novel materials to mitigate the aforementioned challenges in cancer therapy, enhance the efficacy of imaging agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and pioneer innovative techniques such as neutron capture therapy (NCT). Furthermore, a single material has the potential to be utilized in multiple treatment and diagnostic procedures, which could enhance the efficacy of these treatments. The production of these materials, which have the potential to be used for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, and their clinical application as soon as possible, are of great importance and require urgent attention. In this context, a new functional hybrid material was developed that has the potential to be used both simultaneously as a T1 & T2 (positive and negative contrast agents) agent in the diagnosis of cancer with MRI and simultaneously in Gadolinium-Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (GdBNCT), which is a combination of new cancer treatment methods such as Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) and Gadolinium Neutron Capture Therapy (GdNCT). Firstly, superparamagnetic iron (II, III) oxide nanoparticles with a diameter between 10-15 nm were synthesized for use in the T2 agent and for magnetic targeting of the hybrid material. Subsequently, iron (II, III) oxide cores were coated with an inert silica layer between 15-20 nm, thereby enhancing their effectiveness as T1 agents in simultaneous MRI applications. By providing the formation of a layered Gdhydroxide structure on the core in the presence of different surfactants, the effect of surfactants on the formation of magnetic core-based Gd-hydroxide hybrid materials was investigated. The use of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) surfactant resulted in the synthesis of a highly crystalline and homogeneous hybrid material. Borate entrapment by use of ammonium tetraborate and boron-10 oxide in the prepared magnetic core-based layered Gd-hydroxide hybrid materials (Fe3O4@SiO2-GdLH-TB, and Fe3O4@SiO2GdLH-BI) was performed for simultaneous use with the GdBNCT to increase the effectiveness of the treatment. The prepared hybrid materials did not cause a significant cytotoxic effect on the T98G glioblastoma cancer cell line and human dermal fibroblast (HDF) cell lines, even at concentrations of 100 mu g/mL. Consequently, Fe3O4@SiO2-GdLH-TB and Fe3O4@SiO2-GdLH-BI hybrid materials may serve as promising agents for cancer diagnosis and treatment.