Nanomedicine Breakthrough Could Improve Chemotherapy for Childhood Cancer

Link to the article can be found here.

Researchers from the Australian Centre for Nanomedicine at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia are currently working in the field of nanomedicine. Recently, they have created a nanoparticle that can carry and release nitric oxide to specific cancer cells.

Nitric oxide is a signaling molecule, but most NO carrying molecules are toxic and have a short shelf life. This new nanoparticle is non-toxic and has a shelf life that ranges from a few days to a couple weeks. Previous studies have found that NO can increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy.  The researchers at UNSW found that after exposing cancer cells to the NO nanoparticles, chemotherapy was five times more effective.

The creation of this non-toxic NO transporting nanoparticle is significant because it can lead to the use of lower doses of chemotherapy, which would help to minimize the adverse side effects of the cancer treatment. Potentially, these particles could also help with NO deficiency diseases, such as cancer, liver fibrosis, diabetes, cardiovascular illnesses and neurodegenerative diseases.