Nanotechnology is the way of the future. These particles are so miniscule that they can be used to build pretty much anything we want, from biological constructs to space elevator ropes.
As you might imagine, this new technology is also being used on the cancer frontier and research is currently being carried out with it in this aspect.
For example, recently MIT engineers have found a way to turn carbon nanotubes into sensors for cancer drugs and other DNA-damaging agents inside living cells.
Sensors like these could be used to gauge the effectiveness of chemotherapy treatments, a measure which can prove to be useful in providing a greater degree of control of these treatments as chemotherapy makes use of extremely potent drugs, which kills both cancerous and healthy cells alike.
These sensors are safe because they are wrapped in DNA, which makes them living cell-friendly. The interaction between the DNA and DNA disruptor changes the intensity and/or wavelength of the fluorescent light emitted by the nanotube.
On top of being programmed as sensors, nano-organisms are also being used to deliver cancer drugs more effectively to deal with cancer cells, going by the research being performed at Penn State's Hershey Medical Center and University Park campus in Pennsylvania.
Scientists there have reported success in using nanoparticles 1/5,000 the diameter of a human hair encapsulating an experimental anticancer agent, to kill human melanoma and drug-resistant breast cancer cells growing in laboratory cultures. Going further down this avenue could see the development of new anti-cancer drugs that are more specific in their anti-cancer drug delivery, thus being safer and more effective.
However, the research still has some way to go in-terms of seeing practical results as many of the nanoparticles used are unable to dissolve in body fluids and are toxic to cells as well.
Source: CancerNews, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081215151147.htm,
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081214190951.htm
As you might imagine, this new technology is also being used on the cancer frontier and research is currently being carried out with it in this aspect.
For example, recently MIT engineers have found a way to turn carbon nanotubes into sensors for cancer drugs and other DNA-damaging agents inside living cells.
Sensors like these could be used to gauge the effectiveness of chemotherapy treatments, a measure which can prove to be useful in providing a greater degree of control of these treatments as chemotherapy makes use of extremely potent drugs, which kills both cancerous and healthy cells alike.
These sensors are safe because they are wrapped in DNA, which makes them living cell-friendly. The interaction between the DNA and DNA disruptor changes the intensity and/or wavelength of the fluorescent light emitted by the nanotube.
On top of being programmed as sensors, nano-organisms are also being used to deliver cancer drugs more effectively to deal with cancer cells, going by the research being performed at Penn State's Hershey Medical Center and University Park campus in Pennsylvania.
Scientists there have reported success in using nanoparticles 1/5,000 the diameter of a human hair encapsulating an experimental anticancer agent, to kill human melanoma and drug-resistant breast cancer cells growing in laboratory cultures. Going further down this avenue could see the development of new anti-cancer drugs that are more specific in their anti-cancer drug delivery, thus being safer and more effective.
However, the research still has some way to go in-terms of seeing practical results as many of the nanoparticles used are unable to dissolve in body fluids and are toxic to cells as well.
Source: CancerNews, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081215151147.htm,
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081214190951.htm
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