New Nano Drug Delivery System Developed for Bladder Cancer

Using experimental mice models, scientists from UC Davis have shown that nano-particles can be used to administer three times the maximum tolerated dose of a standard bladder cancer drug, paclitaxel, to cancer cells without increasing the toxicity.  The nano-particles created are nano-sized micelles, which are specially designed to home in on and connect to tumorous bladder cancer cells, via the incorporation of specially designed ligands on the micelle body.  These ligands are proven to preferentially bind to bladder cancer cells in dogs and humans.  The team showed that these micelles could be filled with paclitaxel, which could then be delivered directly to the tumor cells.  Since paclitaxel can be toxic to bone marrow cells and is insoluble in blood, the ability of the nano-particles to deliver three times the dose straight to the cancer cells is a giant break through and is big step in the direction of more effective treatment of bladder cancer without the high risk of side effects.  The team from UC Davis also showed that the micelles of the nano-particles could be filled with a fluorescent dye instead of paclitaxel and could then be used as a diagnostic tool for bladder cancer.  Overall, the nano-particles appear to be a great breakthrough in the diagnosis and treatment of bladder cancer, and shows the possible applications of micelle nano-particle use in the area of diagnosis and monitoring therapy.

I found this article interesting because it shows the employment of nano technology to fight disease.   The use of nano-particles (although not mechanical) to fight bladder cancer, a devastating disease, shows a step forward into the future of medicine.  I did not realize we were already at the stage of being able to incorporate controls like the specific ligand that they used.  It leads me to wonder what other diseases could be fought with these specifying nano micelles. The scientists at UC Davis have shown that it is possible to fight disease at the nano level.

            Article Here