Dual Functional Radioactive Gel‐Microspheres for Combinatorial Radioembolization and Photothermal Therapy of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

A simple and efficient method is developed for the preparation of dual functional microspheres, using commercial polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) microspheres as well as the adhesive properties of polydopamine to form a polydopamine coating microspheres and labeling them with radioactive iodine, to obtain dual functional microspheres with photothermal conversion capability and radioactivity, and to achieve the combined application of radioembolization and photothermal therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Abstract

Transarterial radioembolization (TARE) is an established clinical therapy for treating patients with intermediate to advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or those who cannot undergo radical treatment. However, the delivery of a high radiation dose is associated with several adverse effects, such as radiation pneumonitis. Additionally, the available radioactive microspheres (MSs) are dense and unsuitable for interventional delivery. This study proposes the use of commercial CalliSpheres polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) gel MSs coated with polydopamine (PDA) as a carrier for radioactive iodine (¹³¹I) labeled using the iodogen method, denoted as ¹³¹I-PDA@PVA MSs, which can be for radioembolization combined photothermal therapy (PTT) of HCC. In vitro experiments have demonstrated that ¹³¹I-PDA@PVA MSs have high radiolabeling stability and photothermal properties. Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/computed tomography (CT) imaging and biodistribution experiments have shown that ¹³¹I-PDA@PVA MSs remain stable in vivo without any radioactive leakage. The results of the antitumor study suggest that ¹³¹I-PDA@PVA MSs are an effective treatment for inhibiting tumor growth through a combination of radioembolization and PTT while avoiding significant side effects. These multifunctional MSs have great potential for clinical application in the treatment of HCC.