Find and Destroy – scientists plan to treat cancer with nanoparticles
Researchers from the University of Arkansas have developed a method for detecting, tracking and destroying cancer cells using carbon nanotubes.
The discovery creates new prospects in the fight against cancer and can become a method of treating a new generation of cancer, in addition to surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.
Dr. Alex Biris, a leading specialist at the Center for Nanotechnology at the University of Arkansas, and his colleague Professor Vladimir Zharov, director of the Nanomedicine Laboratory, published a paper on this topic in the Journal of Biomedical Optics.
"Until now, scientists have not understood how to track the movement of nanoparticles in a living organism in real time. Thanks to the use of spectroscopy, we have shown that it is possible not only to track nanomaterials passing through the body, but also to detect individual cancer cells using carbon nanotubes," PhysOrg quotes Dr. Biris.
The authors proposed to observe the movement of cells labeled with nanotubes using the method of Raman spectroscopy – one of the ways to study the composition and structure of substances based on the phenomenon of inelastic scattering of optical radiation on the molecules of matter.
In studies of this kind, the spectrum of scattered radiation is analyzed: lines appear in it that are absent from the spectrum of exciting light, and the number and location of new lines is determined by the molecular structure of the sample. But scientists have so far taken only the first step in mastering the new method.
"Before any clinical testing of nanoparticles, it is necessary to determine their pharmacological properties. Our method of treatment can be used additionally in therapy, or even replace it," Zharov believes.
In their study, Biris, Zharov and their colleagues injected a human cancer cell containing carbon nanotubes into the tail vein of a mouse. Scientists were able to observe the movement of nanotubes in the vessels of the animal, through the circulatory, lymphatic systems and tissues using a Raman spectrometer.
Scientists have proposed to kill cancer cells with a laser. The beam hits the nanoparticle and the malignant cells die.
"If we can determine the location of cancer cells using nanomaterials, then we will track them and then destroy them," says Dr. Biris.
According to him, after irradiation, only a dead cell and a nanoparticle remain in the mouse body, which disappear after a few hours.
Dr. Mary Good, Dean of the College of Information Technology at the University of Arkansas, speaks about the great significance of the study from the point of view of medicine.
"The research of Dr. Biris and Dr. Zharov is indeed significant and promising. It opens a new direction in the medical application of nanoparticles. However, it takes time for the experimental data to be used in the treatment of people. But this study gives hope for the emergence of more effective methods of fighting cancer," says Dr. Good.
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