Biology subjects

Van de Walle, A.

Publications and source records attributed to Van de Walle, A..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Magnetite Nanoparticle Photothermal Therapy in a Pancreatic Tumor-on-Chip: A Dual-Action Approach Targeting Cancer Cells and their Microenvironment

The application of magnetite nanoparticles (MagNPs) for photothermal therapy (MagNP-PTT) has recently expanded in cancer treatment. This study introduces MagNP-PTT in a tumor-on-chip model to target highly aggressive pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). A tumor-on-chip system was developed using PANC-1 PDAC cells embedded in a collagen type I extracellular matrix and cultured for one week to form tumor spheroids. This platform serves as the foundation for applying PTT in a model system that is aimed to mimic the native tumor microenvironment. MagNPs efficiently penetrate the tumor spheroids, achieving controlled heating via near-infrared (NIR) light. By adjusting nanoparticle concentration and laser power, temperature increments of 2{degrees}C between 38-48{degrees}C were established. Temperatures above 44{degrees}C significantly increased cell death, while lower temperatures allowed partial recovery. Beyond inducing cancer cell death, MagNP-PTT altered the extracellular matrix, and triggered a slight epithelial-mesenchymal transition marked by increased vimentin expression. These findings highlight MagNP-PTT as a dual-action therapy, targeting both tumor cells and their microenvironment, offering a novel approach for overcoming stromal barriers in pancreatic cancer treatment. O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=99 SRC="FIGDIR/small/636875v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (32K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@9b9c20org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@272c7aorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1d91021org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1b1ea8d_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG SYNOPSIS TABLE OF CONTENTS C_FIG

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2022

Magnetic bioprinting of stem-cell based tissues

An attractive approach in cell therapies and medically oriented nanotechnologies is to interface magnetic nanoparticles with cells. This will supply the cells with sufficient magnetization for theranostic applications and for external magnetic field manipulation. In tissue engineering, one challenge is to produce tissue analogues that are large, precisely organized, and responsive to stimuli, preferably without the need for an artificial supporting scaffold. One powerful tool for such biofabrication is certainly the bioprinting technology. In magnetic tissue engineering, it appears possible to use magnetic forces to manipulate cells, both individually and within aggregates, and thereby to produce three-dimensional artificial tissues with inherent capacities for further physical stimulation, a possibility that bioprinting does not offer yet. We here introduce the feasibility of using magnetic forces created by external (micro)magnets to form 3D tissue-like scaffold-free structures. Because stem cells are essential in tissue engineering, such magnetic technologies were developed with magnetized stem cells, and applied for instance to vascular or cartilage tissue engineering. One precondition to this approach, which lies in the magnetization of (stem) cells endowed through internalization of iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles, is to ensure the safety of magnetic nanoparticles with respect to cellular functions, which is initially discussed. Finally, we introduce a magnetic tissue stretcher which, in a single step, allows to create a tissue composed of any type of component cell, then to mature it, stimulate it by compression or stretching at any desired frequency, e.g. cyclically, opening new possibilities in the cardiac muscle tissue engineering field.

bioengineering↗