fine-tuning nanotech to target cancer (mit technology review)

nanotechnology has shown a lot of promise in treating cancer. repeated trials have shown positive results - patients saw their tumors decrease by nearly 60% and their metastases shrink or even disappear after small two-hour doses of cancer medicine delivered by nanoparticles.

this was how it worked: a nanoparticle containing the cancer medicine would target tumor/sick cells, bypassing the healthy ones. scientists attached molecules to the nanoparticle that would help it do this.

the challenges: the nanotech sometimes affected the drug it contained. for example, the nanoparticle could change the characteristics of the drug (dissolvability, speed, etc.) some drugs have to be absorbed more quickly than others and the nanoparticle could interfere with this.

way drug nonparticles are made:

1. drug placed inside of nanoparticle
2.nanoparticle "stitched" together by molecules that can help target the nanoparticle to sick cells.

making and standardizing nanoparticles can be difficult, so bind used the self-assemby method to create its nanoparticles. this way, some of the parts of the nanoparticle can make themselves.

this is how this is done:

1. two types of polymer are combined to form the nanoparticle.

2. one of these polymers have two physically distinct areas: one consisting of the water-insoluble skin of the drug and the other of an appendage that helps the nanoparticle to avoid the immune system.

3. the other polymer consists of three regions that are similar to the other polymer except in that it also has the molecule that can help the nanoparticle zone in on the right cells.

4. by building the nanoparticle from the ground up using distinct polymers, scientists can produce a larger number of uniform nanoparticles in a shorter amount of time.

with this method, the scientists can try experimenting with a wider range of drugs that were previously dismissed as being too dangerous for the human body, bringing us one step closer to finding cures for cancer.



bibliography

"Fine-tuning Nanotech to Target Cancer | MIT Technology Review." MIT Technology Review. N.p., 03 May 2012. Web. 27 Sept. 2015.