Physicists go out to fight cancer
How nanobiomedicine develops in MEPhI
Nanobiomedicine is gradually gaining popularity among applicants of Russian universities. What applied tasks does this science set for itself today? What contribution do Russian scientists make to their solution? This was told to the correspondent of the project "Social Navigator" MIA "Russia Today" by a professor of the Engineering Physics Institute of Biomedicine of the National Research Nuclear University "MEPhI" (IFIB NRU MEPhI) Viktor Tymoshenko.
– Viktor Yurievich, what scientific tasks is biomedicine solving today?
– We serve the noble goal of creating new methods of diagnosis and treatment of diseases and improving the quality of life of people. This is very interesting, since living systems are one of the most mysterious and unexplored areas of science where you can use physical devices and methods extremely productively.
Interest in this area of knowledge is a general trend that is observed all over the world. Suffice it to say that the budget of the US National Institutes of Health is comparable to the budget of the Pentagon, or even exceeds it.
We participate in experiments to create particles, investigate and modify their physical properties, then, together with biologists and physicians, we test them on biological models in order to identify ways of their further application. For example, to solve such global problems as the treatment of oncological, infectious and [neuro]degenerative diseases.
Now we are developing drugs for early diagnosis and gentle therapy of oncological diseases. In the future – research of nanoparticles and nanopreparations for the treatment of cardiovascular and infectious diseases, as well as to improve the quality of life, fight free radicals and reduce the negative effects of environmental pollution. All this can be done with the help of modern nano- and biotechnologies.
– Do you and your colleagues at IFIB develop nanomaterials?
– This is our main profile. Since we are physicists by education, we know the physical laws best, including when developing new materials and modifying existing ones.
For example, you can purchase some available materials, and then modify them to set the desired properties for them, and then also study them by different physical methods. This is our usual physico-chemical "kitchen", which we do all the time.
– What discovery or research of your employees do you consider the most significant in recent times?
– I consider our main achievement to be research in the field of theranostics – combining the processes of diagnosis and therapy using nanoparticles. We have shown that in some cases nanoparticles can give an optical or magnetic resonance (nuclear) response.
Such particles can be used both as tags and as a means of targeted therapy, which will reduce the time of diagnosis and treatment of the patient. For most patients, this is critical, especially when it is associated with oncopathology. We are looking for methods to eliminate tumors in the shortest possible time with the least harm to the patient's body.
– When will these discoveries be implemented in practical medicine?
– We believe that this will happen very quickly, and we are working in this direction. But there are mandatory protocols, clinical trials… It will take at least three years to implement one of our promising scientific directions and produce a drug approved for use.
Most likely, our drugs will be agents with enhancing and improving characteristics or contrast material in diagnostic studies such as MRI.
– What new research are you planning in the near future?
– There are a lot of them, even too many. It would be useful to include new people, including students, in research activities.
I would like to expand the range of materials and methods, because the diseases are all very diverse. For example, cancer has a huge number of varieties, and so far we have focused on the treatment of tumors of a certain type, but there are other oncological diseases, such as leukemia.
Brain diseases also remain a mystery in many ways. We would like to try new methods in this field using composite particles and carbon-based particles and using nuclear medicine methods. We could scan areas of the brain and find nanoparticles that would show where the problem area is located as tags.
– Which students are you ready to take to your scientific work?
– A student, first of all, must study well. He should have no doubt that this work is useful and interesting. He must have good basic knowledge in physics and biology, have certain competencies in chemistry and, of course, be an enthusiast and not be distracted by other things. It's no secret that information technology and business often attract young people. If it helps our business, we welcome it. If not, it gets in the way. Therefore, students should be determined to solve, first of all, scientific problems.
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