MIT researcher Sangeeta N. Bhatia has enlisted a powerful new ally in the fight against cancer: superparamagnetic nanoparticles! They’re tiny, they’re tough, and they target tumors.
“Superparamagnetic” particles release heat in the presence of a magnetic field, and in the Nov. 15 issue of Advanced Materials, Bhatia and her colleagues report success in using the tiny particles to deliver cancer-fighting drugs.
Here’s how they work. The nanoparticles, injected into the bloodstream of the patient, zero in on tumors and clump together. (This innovative and still-experimental searching mechanism was also devised by Bhatia’s team.) Doctors can find the particles—and the tumors—with an MRI.
But these aren’t just any nanoparticles—these particles carry tiny bits of medicine, which are attached via a bond that melts away when exposed to heat. (Bhatia and her colleagues used strands of DNA.)
Now comes the superparamagnetic part. Scientists send an electromagnetic wave through the body; when the wave washes over the nanoparticles, they heat up, the bonds break, and voila! Drugs, meet tumor. Tumor, meet your end.
(The initial experiments were done on mice, and scientists are still working on the “clumping” ability of the particles, so it could be years before humans realize any benefit from this remarkably innovative drug-delivery method.)
