Novel Nanoparticle System Carries Cancer Drug inside Glass Bubble

Sep, 2022 - By SMI

When researchers used the system and delivered two drugs in one nanoparticle in mice, in the place of delivering them separately, the treatment showed better effects

Cancer therapeutics is growing rapidly with time; however, delivering cancer drugs to the exact place in precise quantities is a recurring issue in this sector. However, now a team of researchers at the University of California have developed a novel technology in this space. The researchers demonstrated how the new nanoparticle system carries one type of anti-cancer drug securely inside a glass bubble and second cancer drug can be added to its exterior, which delivers two drug punch to the site of cancer.

The researchers created this new drug delivery system using small silica nanoparticles fashioned into a bubble shaped glass having hollow interior. In this space, the researchers packed an approved chemotherapy drug known as irinotecan. Moreover, this glass core is surrounded by lipid molecules that are interwoven with a second drug named 3M-052, which is an investigational molecule.

This system developed for fighting pancreatic cancer measures only one thousandth of human hair width. The leakage is kept to minimum in the system for ensuring delivery of maximum amount of drugs at the tumor site. When reached, both the drugs perform related functions that are essential. Irinotecan prevents the cancer cell growth and alerts the immune system that detects killer T cells descending on the site of the tumor to kill the cancer cells. During this, 3M-052 helps with T cell recruitment at nearby lymph nodes and the site of the tumor. The researchers tested this new system in engineered mice and found that it is capable of shrinking tumors and preventing metastasis with higher efficiency than deploying irinotecan by itself.

Moreover, the dual-drug approach of the team was found to be promising than delivery either of the drugs on their own. The team now looks to advance to clinical trials, as the researchers plant to test the system in bigger cancer animal models.