Chemical engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United States, have designed a new type of drug-delivery nanoparticle that could be used to deliver cancer drugs to nearly any type of tumor. The new nanoparticle exploits a trait shared by almost all tumors – they are more acidic than healthy tissues. The MIT particles are coated in a polymer layer that not only protects the particle from being degraded in the bloodstream, but is also designed to fall off after entering the slightly more acidic environment near a tumor. The layer underneath is then able to penetrate individual tumor cells. Research in mice found that these particles could survive in the bloodstream for up to 24 hours, accumulate at tumor sites and enter tumor cells. Paula Hammond, a Bayer Professor of Chemical Engineering and a senior author of a paper describing the particles in the journal ACS Nano, said that such particles could target nearly any type of tumor, and could be designed to carry virtually any type of drug. The team plans to further develop the particles and test their ability to deliver drugs in animals. Human clinical trials could begin in five to ten years, according to Hammond.
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/cancer-nanoparticle-hammond-0429.html