Page 97 - Read Online

Yang et al. Soft Sci 2024;4:9 https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/ss.2023.43 Page 17 of 26

Figure 6. (A) LM enhances the imaging of CT and MRI in cryosurgery; (B) LM as an immune adjuvant for synergistic immune therapy;
(C) Gallium ion-mediated cancer treatment through iron deprivation; (D) Strengthening heat transfer of cryopreservation through LM
3+
coating; (E) Mechanism of anti-inflammation of Ga by suppressing immune cell proliferation and promoting secretion of anti-
inflammatory cytokines; (F) LM as an immunomodulating agent for relieving immune rejection. LM: Liquid metal.

response. The delightful result is on the strength of targeted killing of tumor cells, the recognition by the
immune system after tumor cells rupture, and the release of antigens mediated by cryosurgery. Studies have
also shown that cryoablation can induce the abscopal effect, which refers to the reduction or even
disappearance of the tumor that has metastasized to other organs and tissues in the process of tumor
treatment, and this effect has been proved by cryoablation for prostate tumors treatment .
[98]
Hence, it is worth expecting that the synergistic immune therapeutic effect of cryoablation and LMs, along
with their distinctive physical characteristics under cryogenic temperature, will bring new prospects for
cancer treatment.

LM-mediated iron deprivation for tumor killing
Aluminum, gallium, and indium are three metallic elements in the periodic table with increasing atomic
numbers in the same group IIIA. Thus, it is self-evident that they share certain similarities in their chemical
properties [Table 3]. However, numerous in vitro and in vivo biological experiments have demonstrated
that gallium and iron ions show more evident similarities in the physiological environment. This precise
resemblance in biochemical properties between these two ions constitutes the basis of a series of
physiological effects of gallium so that it could be widely applied to various clinical occasions, including
anticancer and antibacterial practice .
[99]