Polymer Slime Protects Cancer-Killing Nanoworms
Researchers from the University of California, San Diego, the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have made two discoveries which may benefit other scientists developing nanotechnologies to treat cancer.
Scientists and engineers around the world are working on designs for nanoscale machines to detect cancer and deliver targeted therapies inside the body. While several promising cancer-fighting nanodevices are already in the works, there’s been a big hurdle to overcome: the body’s immune system.
Microscopic drug-delivery devices need to be able to locate disease cells and dispense their treatment, but the human body’s natural defense mechanisms often locate these foreign objects and attack them before they can get their job done.
The UC/MIT team, which was led by Michael Sailor of UCSD, found they could string together several nanoscale iron oxide balls into a multi-jointed structure three million times smaller than an earthworm. Then they took this new nanoworm device and coated it with a slimy polymer coating containing F3 peptide, a tumor-targeting molecule.
The group’s mice studies showed the multi-ball design produced clearer images in diagnostic scans than single-ball devices, making it easier to see when the nanoworm latches on to a tumor. And the polymer coating helped the nanoworm escape the body’s defense mechanisms for up to 24 hours – long enough to locate cancer and deliver treatment.
While the team is pleased with their breakthroughs to date, they caution that many more studies will be needed to determine if these two new discoveries will work safely in human cancer patients. As the group’s leader said,
“You want it to stay long enough to find the tumors and do the damage, but once it’s done its job, you want it to leave.”
Michael J. Sailor, PhD
Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCSD
If you’d like to learn more about this research, the findings have been published in the April 2008 online edition of the journal Advanced Materials.
Source: ABC News Technology and Science
Related Links: UC San Diego News Center; dosci.org
Technorati Tags: nanomedicine; oncology
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