DUALNANOTHER · Dual cancer nanotherapies combining magnetic and plasmonic hyperthermia

This project is designed to provide answers to questions not yet covered in the literature regarding hyperthermia cancer therapy based on the activation of magnetic and/or plasmonic nanomaterials. It aims at understanding and measuring nanoparticle-based heat-generating potential in environments that gradually approach the in vivo situation. The originality of the approach proposed is to combine in-depth physical studies (magnetic, plasmonic) of nanomaterials in biological environment while exploring new therapeutic modalities. Two main issues will be addressed: (1) the influence of magnetic or plasmonic nanoparticle confinement inside cells on heat-generating potential; (2) the possible synergism between magnetic and plasmonic hyperthermia, with a view to combined therapy, and their cumulative efficacy in solution, in vitro cell models, and in vivo tumour models. These issues will be addressed at several levels, ranging from materials chemistry to antitumoral applications in living animals, by exploiting multiple disciplines. To open the way to new therapeutic tools, it will be necessary to test a wide variety of nanoparticles with different compositions, shapes and sizes, provided by leading teams in nanomaterials synthesis, as well as to develop appropriate nanometrologic methods to detect, quantify and characterize the different nanostructures in their biological environment.