Study of the effect of magnetic hyperthermia on magnetosome degradation in a 3D model of human lung carcinoma

Magnetic hyperthermia is a therapy that aims to kill cancer cells by delivering heat to them. The heating agents employed for this treatment are magnetic nanoparticles, which are internalised by the cells, and heat up when an alternating magnetic field is applied. One of the magnetic nanoparticles currently being studied for biomedical applications are magnetosomes. These are magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles synthesised by magnetotactic bacteria, which exhibit excellent heating efficiency. However very little is know about the fate of magnetosomes once they are inside cells, which is of high relevance if they are to be approved for clinical use. In this experiment we aim to study how the application of magnetic hyperthermia affects the intracellular degradation process of magnetosomes in a 3D tumour model.