Northwestern Nanodiamonds Kill the Cancer Left Behind
Scientists at Northwestern University have developed an innovative device that delivers drugs to cancer cells left inside the body after a tumor is surgically removed.
The flexible microfilm device is constructed from an FDA-approved material called polymer parylene which can be constructed in any shape and looks like a piece of plastic wrap. The patch-like film is embedded with millions of tiny nanodiamonds loaded with chemotherapy drugs then placed where residual disease cells are present.
Once in place, the semi-porous nanodiamond device is specifically designed to slowly and consistently release chemotherapy over weeks or months rather than administering it in larger single doses as often done in conventional treatment regimens.
The scientists say nanodiamonds are economical to construct and have already been successfully mass-produced for use in other automobile and electronics applications. Plus, nanodiamonds have a versatile architecture which can store a variety of treatments including small molecule, protein, antibody and RNA or DNA-based therapies.
Northwestern’s research team used Doxorubicin, a drug used to treat many forms of cancer, to test their device’s drug delivery capabilities over a one-month period. The test results indicated nanodiamonds effectively delivered the chemotherapy throughout the one-month period and indications are the device is capable of continuing treatments over substantially longer periods of time.
Northwestern’s research team was led by Dean Ho, a member of the Robert H Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center and an assistant professor at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. Dr Ho’s team included scientists from Northwestern University and Shinshu University in Nagano, Japan.
Ho is currently involved with pre-clinical trials of the device. His team is optimistic nanodiamond-embedded parylene devices will improve treatments for future cancer patients by reducing the possible complications and toxic side effects associated with chemotherapy. As Dr Ho said,
“Several surgeons at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine, as well as other medical school and hospitals, are very interested in the device because it is biocompatible and provides such stable and consistent drug release.”
Dean Ho, PhD
Asst Professor, McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science
Northwestern University
If you’d like to learn more, the team’s research has been published in the October 2, 2008, edition of the journal ACS Nano.
Source: Northwestern University NewsCenter
Related Links: EurekAlert!; ScienceDaily
Tags: adjuvant therapy; biotechnology; minimally invasive; oncology; nanomedicine; nanotechnology; targeted therapy; personalized medicine; pharmaceutical and medical devices
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