Home > Press > Polymer nanoparticle shows ability to locate and treat breast tumors
 |
Abstract:
One major problem in treating cancer is identifying the location of small tumors and treating them before they metastasize.
Polymer nanoparticle shows ability to locate and treat breast tumors
Winston-Salem, NC | Posted on March 13th, 2018In an effort to overcome that problem, researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have developed a fluorescing nanoparticle capable of finding tumors, lighting up upon arrival and being activated with light to generate heat to destroy the cancer cells.
A study in which these nanoparticles - Hybrid Donor-Acceptor Polymer Particles, or H-DAPPs - successfully located and killed breast cancer skills in mice is published in the current issue of the journal ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces.
"An unexpected result was how efficiently the nanoparticles localized to the tumors without any targeting agent," said the study's lead author, Nicole Levi-Polyachenko, Ph.D., associate professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Wake Forest School of Medicine, part of Wake Forest Baptist. "Achieving high enough levels of H-DAPPs within the tumor to allow it to be seen provides an advantage for knowing exactly where light should be applied to generate heat and kill the cancer cells."
Other investigators have developed nanoparticles to detect tumors or carry drugs, and Levi-Polyachenko's team has created polymers that strongly absorb infrared light and generate heat. Regarding the new nanoparticle, she said, "It was exciting to figure out the step for combining a heat-generating polymer with a light-emitting polymer to allow for detection and on-demand heat treatment."
H-DAPPs are made of electrically conductive polymers and are smaller than 100 nanometers (0.00000393701 of an inch) in diameter. Their small size and soft composition makes it easy for them to travel through the bloodstream to the tumor.
"There is much more research needed to ensure that H-DAPPs can safely be used in humans," Levi-Polyachenko said. "But we are enthusiastic about exploring the use of H-DAPPs with other cancer types and eventually in patients."
###
The study was supported by National Institutes of Health Grant R21 EB019748-02.
Co-authors are Elizabeth Graham-Gurysh, Ph.D., Sneha Kelkar, Ph.D., Eleanor McCabe-Lankford, Ph.D., Nancy D. Kock, Ph.D., and Theodore Brown, B.S., of Wake Forest Baptist; Narayanan Kuthirummal, of the College of Charleston (S.C.); and Aaron M. Mohs, Ph.D., University of Nebraska Medical Center.
####
For more information, please click here
Contacts:
marguerite beck
336-716-2415
Copyright © Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center
If you have a comment, please Contact us.Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Bookmark:
| Related News Press |
News and information
Sensors innovations for smart lithium-based batteries: advancements, opportunities, and potential challenges August 8th, 2025
Deciphering local microstrain-induced optimization of asymmetric Fe single atomic sites for efficient oxygen reduction August 8th, 2025
Lab to industry: InSe wafer-scale breakthrough for future electronics August 8th, 2025
New imaging approach transforms study of bacterial biofilms August 8th, 2025
Cancer
New molecular technology targets tumors and simultaneously silences two ‘undruggable’ cancer genes August 8th, 2025
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev researchers several steps closer to harnessing patient's own T-cells to fight off cancer June 6th, 2025
Possible Futures
ICFO researchers overcome long-standing bottleneck in single photon detection with twisted 2D materials August 8th, 2025
New molecular technology targets tumors and simultaneously silences two ‘undruggable’ cancer genes August 8th, 2025
Simple algorithm paired with standard imaging tool could predict failure in lithium metal batteries August 8th, 2025
First real-time observation of two-dimensional melting process: Researchers at Mainz University unveil new insights into magnetic vortex structures August 8th, 2025
Nanomedicine
New molecular technology targets tumors and simultaneously silences two ‘undruggable’ cancer genes August 8th, 2025
New imaging approach transforms study of bacterial biofilms August 8th, 2025
Cambridge chemists discover simple way to build bigger molecules – one carbon at a time June 6th, 2025
Electrifying results shed light on graphene foam as a potential material for lab grown cartilage June 6th, 2025
Discoveries
Deciphering local microstrain-induced optimization of asymmetric Fe single atomic sites for efficient oxygen reduction August 8th, 2025
ICFO researchers overcome long-standing bottleneck in single photon detection with twisted 2D materials August 8th, 2025
New molecular technology targets tumors and simultaneously silences two ‘undruggable’ cancer genes August 8th, 2025
Simple algorithm paired with standard imaging tool could predict failure in lithium metal batteries August 8th, 2025
Announcements
Sensors innovations for smart lithium-based batteries: advancements, opportunities, and potential challenges August 8th, 2025
Deciphering local microstrain-induced optimization of asymmetric Fe single atomic sites for efficient oxygen reduction August 8th, 2025
Japan launches fully domestically produced quantum computer: Expo visitors to experience quantum computing firsthand August 8th, 2025
ICFO researchers overcome long-standing bottleneck in single photon detection with twisted 2D materials August 8th, 2025
Interviews/Book Reviews/Essays/Reports/Podcasts/Journals/White papers/Posters
New molecular technology targets tumors and simultaneously silences two ‘undruggable’ cancer genes August 8th, 2025
Simple algorithm paired with standard imaging tool could predict failure in lithium metal batteries August 8th, 2025
First real-time observation of two-dimensional melting process: Researchers at Mainz University unveil new insights into magnetic vortex structures August 8th, 2025
Lab to industry: InSe wafer-scale breakthrough for future electronics August 8th, 2025
Nanobiotechnology
New molecular technology targets tumors and simultaneously silences two ‘undruggable’ cancer genes August 8th, 2025
New imaging approach transforms study of bacterial biofilms August 8th, 2025
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev researchers several steps closer to harnessing patient's own T-cells to fight off cancer June 6th, 2025
Electrifying results shed light on graphene foam as a potential material for lab grown cartilage June 6th, 2025
 |
||
 |
||
| The latest news from around the world, FREE | ||
 |
||
|
|
||
| Premium Products | ||
 |
||
|
Only the news you want to read!
Learn More |
||
 |
||
|
Full-service, expert consulting
Learn More |
||
|
|
||