Researchers at the University of Buffalo, United States, have developed a novel technology to deliver a chemotherapeutic drug to specific cells in the lung without causing acute inflammation. The discovery is expected to have major implications for research and treatment of tuberculosis, as well as other inflammatory lung diseases. The technique uses quantum dots linked with doxorubicin, an anti-cancer chemotherapy drug, to target specific lung cells, known as alveolar macrophages (aMØ). According to Krishnan V. Chakravarthy, PhD, a research fellow in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and lead author on the paper, “[T]he ability to target specific cells in the lung without exposing surrounding cells and tissue or distant organs to the detrimental effects of drugs is an exciting avenue to explore. We have been able to prove this in both cultured cells and in animals. The technology is still in its infancy, but being able to conduct these experiments in the whole animal makes it more promising as a clinical application. The long-term goal would be to do targeted drug delivery through aerosolized techniques, making it suitable for clinical use.” The quantum dot-doxorubicin combination resulted in an increased uptake of the drug compared to doxorubicin alone, and a lessened inflammatory response. The paper describing the work appeared online in the journal Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine.