Radiosensitivity enhancement of typical 15 nm polyethylene-glycol-coated Au nanoparticles on HepG2 cell

Objective To investigate the radiosensitivity enhancement of Au nanoparticles to HepG2 cell.Methods 15 nm polyethylene-glycol-coated(PEG) Au nanoparticles were synthesized,and then blood stability were tested by using the UV-vis optical absorption.Meanwhile,3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide methods were used to investigate the cell viability after 24 and 48 hours treatments,and cloning formation were used to investigate the radiosensitivity enhancement.Results It was found that PEG-coated Au nanoparticles presented a high blood stability,and surface plasmon response has not shown significant changes after 24 hours.Cell viability was decreased after 24 hours treatment,but it was recovered to 90％ after 48 hours.Cloning formation showed Au nanoparticles presented a significant radiosensitivity enhancement.Conclusion 15 nm PEG-coated Au nanoparticles presented a good blood stability,low cytotoxicity and high radiosensitivity enhancement. Key words: Polyethylene glycols;  Gold nanoparticles;  Radiation sensitizing