Canada (Commonwealth Union) – Nanotechnology generally uses microscopic particles to carry out desired activities which have been used in various industries. Chemists specializing in nanotechnology have been inspired by nature to develop molecular transporters that advance the release of therapeutic drugs.
Scientists from the University of Montreal (UdeM) have designed and validated a new class of drug transporters formed of DNA 20,000 times tinier than a human hair capable of enhancing the way cancers and other diseases are treated. The study was published in Nature Communications, indicating that these molecular transporters are possible to be chemically programmed to transfer optimal levels of drugs, which will make them more effective than the methods in use.
A significant method to successfully treat the disease is the delivery and maintenance of a therapeutic drug dosage throughout its treatment. Sub-optimal therapeutic treatment lowers effectiveness generally leading to drug resistance, while overexposure elevates side effects.
Keeping optimal concentrations of drugs in the blood is still a major drawback in current treatments. As many drugs undergo fast degradation and patients are forced to take many doses at regular intervals which is sometimes forgotten. Due to each patient’s distinct pharmacokinetic profile, the drugs concentration in their blood differs significantly.
Noticing that approximately 50% of cancer patients get an optimal drug dosage undergoing certain chemotherapies, UdeM associate professor of chemistry Alexis Vallée-Bélisle, who is an expert in bio-inspired nanotechnologies, evaluated the way biological systems control and keep the concentration of biomolecules.
The researchers hope to apply these findings to blood cancer and professor Vallée-Bélisle said: “We envision that similar nanotransporters may also be developed to deliver drugs to other specific locations in the body and maximize the presence of the drug at tumor sites.”
“This would drastically improve the efficiency of drugs as well as decrease their side effects,” professor Vallée-Bélisle added.
