In vitro determination of uptake and biological efficacy of boronated compounds for neutron capture therapy in the human lung cancer cell line A 549

Author

Thomas Edward Byrne

Date of Award

8-1997

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Nuclear Engineering

Major Professor

Laurence F. Miller

Committee Members

Pete Groer, Laurence Townsend

Abstract

The purpose of this research was the development of a system for the evaluation of boronated compounds for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) in the human lung cancer cell line A 549. The determination of biological efficacy was established by the evaluation of survival curves following irradiation with thermal neutrons. In this research the boronated compounds examined were the boron-containing deoxyribonucleoside CDU-4 and the boron-containing ribonucleoside CN-V-264 and the alpha amino acid LSK 1-38 and the cyclic amino acid m-carboranyl ACBC. The greatest uptake of boron occurred with ACBC followed by LSK 1-38, CN-V-264 and CDU-4 in that order. Toxicity was greatest with the boronated nucleosides; thus, it was necessary to limit these chemicals to a concentration of 2.5 μg/ml. The boronated amino acids revealed lower toxicity, and a higher concentration of 10 μg/ml was feasible. The high cellular uptake of ACBC and lower toxicity makes this the BNCT agent of first choice for future research. The lower cellular uptake of LSK 1-38 and CN-V-264 with very good results make these the BNCT agents of second choice for future research. The high toxicity and low cellular uptake of CDU-4 does leads to a recommendation of this chemical as an agent for future BNCT research as funding is available. A 30 mg ²⁵²Cf source from the Radiochemical Engineering and Development Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory provided thermal neutrons for this study. A flux of approximately 2 x 10⁸ thermal neutrons/cm²/second was generated by this source in the sample region. All experiments with thermal neutrons plus boronated compounds displayed a greater cancer cell killing effect than control experiments without boronated compounds.

Recommended Citation

Byrne, Thomas Edward, "In vitro determination of uptake and biological efficacy of boronated compounds for neutron capture therapy in the human lung cancer cell line A 549. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 1997.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/10474