High-Z nanoparticles have emerged as a novel type of radiosensitizers due to their relatively large X-ray cross-section and ability to enhance radical production under irradiation. Recently, CaWO₄ nanoparticles have been prepared and their potential as a radiosensitizer has been demonstrated. Herein, we investigated BaWO₄ nanoparticles as a novel type of alkaline-earth metal tungstate radiosensitizer for radiotherapy (RT). We synthesized BaWO₄ nanoparticles using hydrothermal reaction and coated them with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). We found that BaWO₄ nanoparticles could more efficiently enhance hydroxyl radical production under irradiation than CaWO₄ nanoparticles. When tested in vitro, BaWO₄ nanoparticles showed lower toxicity than CaWO₄ nanoparticles in the absence of irradiation, but induced more significant oxidative stress under irradiation. When tested in vivo, BaWO₄ nanoparticles led to more efficient tumor inhibition without causing systemic toxicity. Overall, our results suggest that BaWO₄ nanoparticles can efficiently enhance RT and hold great potential as a novel type of radiosensitizing agent.

高Z纳米粒子由于其较大的X射线横截面和增强辐射下自由基产生的能力而成为一种新型的放射增敏剂。最近，已经制备了CaWO ₄纳米颗粒，并且已经证明了其作为放射增敏剂的潜力。在这里，我们研究了BaWO ₄纳米粒子作为一种新型的放射治疗用碱土金属钨酸盐放射增敏剂。我们使用水热反应合成了BaWO ₄纳米粒子，并用聚乙烯吡咯烷酮（PVP）包覆它们。我们发现，BaWO ₄纳米粒子比CaWO ₄纳米粒子可以更有效地增强辐射下的羟基自由基产生。体外测试时在没有辐照的情况下，BaWO ₄纳米颗粒的毒性比CaWO ₄纳米颗粒低，但在辐照下却引起更大的氧化应激。当在体内测试时，BaWO ₄纳米颗粒可导致更有效的肿瘤抑制，而不会引起全身毒性。总体而言，我们的结果表明BaWO ₄纳米颗粒可以有效地增强RT，并具有作为新型放射增敏剂的巨大潜力。