Antitumor grenades with thermosensitive fuses
Doctors propose to fight cancer with the help of thermal "nano-grenades"
British doctors have developed special "nano-grenades" capable of delivering anti-cancer drugs directly into a cancerous tumor and "exploding" in it under the action of heat generated by cancer cells, as they told at the cancer control conference in Liverpool (Enhanced in vivo tumour accumulation of antibody-targeted temperature-sensitive liposomes by local heat activation).
"In our case, the thermal "check" is set at a temperature of 42 degrees Celsius, which is only a couple of degrees higher than the normal body temperature. And although we have tested the work of our "grenades" so far only in the laboratory, there are a number of ways to "heat" cancer cells in the body of patients, some of which are already used in medical practice," Kostas Kostarelos from the University of Manchester said (in a press release from The University of Manchester Heat-activated ‘grenade’ to target cancer – VM).
Costarelos and his colleagues created their "heat grenades" based on so–called liposomes - microscopic balls of liquid surrounded by "nanobrons" of synthetic fat molecules that gradually disintegrate when ingested.
Manchester doctors changed the structure of liposomes in such a way that their stability began to depend on the ambient temperature. If the liquid remained colder than a certain point – 42 degrees in this case – then the fat balls remain stable for almost unlimited time. If they are heated to this point, they almost instantly disintegrate and throw their contents out.
According to the researchers, they have already conducted several tests on cancer cell cultures in the laboratory and on tumors transplanted into the bodies of mice, which confirmed the operability of the "heat grenades" and allowed the Costarelos team to improve their "fighting" qualities.
As part of these experiments, scientists were successfully able to eliminate cancer in rodents and prolong their lives by using antibodies capable of recognizing melanoma (skin cancer) cells as a "filling" for liposomes. Scientists hope that in the near future they will be able to obtain permission to continue experiments and begin clinical trials of such "grenades".
"Using liposomes in this form has always been a fix idea for nanomedicine. This study showed for the first time how we can create liposomes that will destroy cancer cells and keep healthy cells intact," Charles Swanton, coordinator of the conference, commented on the invention of Manchester colleagues.
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02.11.2015