A new family of nanoparticles designed to prevent premature release of drugs in the body holds the promise of greater precision and efficiency in delivering anticancer drugs to tumor sites.
"]![An example of a micelle used to deliver a drug. The blue atoms are the hydrophilic end of the polymer, while the white atoms are the hydrophobic end. The red atoms symbolize the drug/active substance atoms. Such a system can also be used to transfer food materials and various additives, apart from medicines. [Source: www.atrp.gatech.edu/pt18-3/18-3_p3]](https://www.hayadan.org.il/images/content3/2012/05/drug_delivery.jpg "An example of a micelle used to deliver a drug. The blue atoms are the hydrophilic end of the polymer, while the white atoms are the hydrophobic end. The red atoms symbolize the drug/active substance atoms. Such a system can also be used to transfer food materials and various additives, apart from medicines. [Source: www.atrp.gatech.edu/pt18-3/18-3_p3]")
The research team, led by Professor Kit Lam from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine at the University of California, synthesized a completely new family of micelles (a collection of molecules that includes both a hydrophilic part and a hydrophobic part, formed in a mixture of substances) that cause chemical changes in response to specific stimuli. A micelle is an aggregate of molecules that are surfactants dispersed in a water-based liquid, for example, a salt solution. Micelles are nanostructures with a size of 50-25 nanometers and are used as nanocarriers for drug delivery.
The micelles known as BCM are a unique type of micelles, which release their refresher quickly in response to the acidic microenvironment present in the cancer tumor environment or when they are exposed to specific chemical compounds approved for human consumption, such as the well-known sugar molecule mannitol.
"The use of micelles-type nanocarriers that enable the timed transfer of anti-cancer drugs helps prevent premature release of the drug in the bloodstream and ensures the release of a high concentration of the drug only in the tumor area itself. These materials hold great promise for a significant improvement in the field of cancer treatment," explains one of the researchers.
Stimuli-responsive nanoparticles are currently receiving much attention in the field of drug delivery due to their ability to change in response to defined stimuli. Among these nanoparticles, Stimuli-responsive Cross-linked Micelles (SCMs) represent a versatile system of nanocarriers for the delivery of drugs aimed at the tumor area.
Too often nanoparticles release the drugs contained in them too early and "miss" their target. The new micelles are able to hold the drug in the content for a longer time and thereby minimize its early release while it is in the blood circulation. The addition of the ability to respond sensitively to changing environmental conditions turns these micelles into substances that respond to the local environment of the tumor itself. In this situation, the drug carried by the micelle is released mainly in the area of the infected tissue.
The new micelles developed by the research team include two separate reaction mechanisms - these micelles release drugs based on a mechanism of self-assembly of polymers containing boronic acid and polymers containing catechol, polymers that make these micelles particularly sensitive to changes in the acidity level of the environment. The team of researchers optimized the stability of these micelles as well as their response to the presence of an acidic environment and the sugar mannitol.
One response
Very doubtful if it will be useful against cancer