Nanorobots that can deliver drugs and other agents have been touted for years as a potential method for cancer treatment have been studied and investigated. Now, scientists at the University of Montreal (UdeM) have created a new class of drug carriers from DNA that are 20,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair and, in addition to being more effective than current cancer treatment methods, have far fewer side effects.
Researchers have come up with a new solution for cancer treatment. They have developed DNA-based drug carriers that mimic the ability of protein transporters found in living organisms to maintain precise concentrations of specific molecules in the body.
Testing drug transporters for cancer treatment
The team developed two DNA-based carriers: one forquininewhich is an anti-malarial drug and another fordoxorubicin”; A drug that is usually used to treat breast cancer and blood cancer.
To demonstrate the nanorobot’s effectiveness, the researchers showed that a transporter developed for doxorubicin can retain the drug in the blood up to 18 times longer than current methods. It also prevents the drug from penetrating other organs such as the heart and lungs, and keeps the mice healthier as evidenced by their normal weight gain.
They showed that these synthetic transporters can be easily programmed to deliver and maintain any specific concentration of drug in the body. Another exciting feature of these carrier nanorobots is that they can be used as drug reservoirs to minimize the dose and direct them to specific parts of the body, effectively reducing drug side effects.
Current cancer treatment methods usually harm patients. While exploding tumors, chemotherapies inevitably hit the surrounding healthy cells as well, which causes countless side effects. Also, many doses of a drug are given to patients at regular intervals.
Using a nanorobot makes these problems and injuries not exist in addition to the drug reaching the target. They can also navigate directly to a tumor and intelligently deploy the therapeutic payload exactly where it is needed without any collateral damage.
In the future, the team plans to conduct clinical studies to confirm their discovery. Also, since the doxorubicin nanocarrier can keep the drug in the bloodstream, it could be ideal for treating leukemia. Also, these carriers can be designed to deliver a wide range of therapeutic molecules to patients.
