A Sticky Solution

This artist’s impression represents cancer cells under attack from a new type of treatment – a three-way attack delivered directly to a cancerous tumour by a sticky patch packed with tiny gold nanoparticles. Many cancers are treated using chemotherapy drugs injected into the bloodstream. But although they’re designed to hit cancer cells harder than healthy cells, relatively small amounts of chemotherapy actually make it into tumours. But the drugs still go all around the body and can cause serious side effects such as sickness and damage to the immune system. The patch delivers nanoparticles loaded with molecules targeting a faulty gene found in cancer cells, plus a chemotherapy drug. It also generates heat, which damages cancer cells and completes the three-way assault. By sticking the patch directly on or near a tumour – for example in the bowel – scientists think they can target cancer much more accurately and cause fewer side effects.

Written by Kat Arney

Kat Arney

Writer

Dr Kat Arney is an award-winning science writer, broadcaster and public speaker, and is the founder and Creative Director of First Create The Media.

Website

• Image courtesy of Natalie Artzi
• Department of Medicine, Division of Biomedical Engineering, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
• Image copyright held by original authors
• Research published in Nature Materials, July 2016