Researchers at the University of Arkansas have developed a new nano drug candidate that kills triple negative breast cancer cells.
Triple negative breast cancer is one of the most aggressive and fatal types of breast cancer. The research will help clinicians target breast cancer cells directly, while avoiding the adverse, toxic side effects of chemotherapy.
Their study was published in the journal Advanced Therapeutics.
The researchers linked a new class of nanomaterials, called metal-organic frameworks(MOF), with the ligands of an already-developed photodynamic therapy(PDT) drug to create a nano-porous material that targets and kills tumor cells without creating toxicity for normal cells.
Metal-organic frameworks are an emerging class of nanomaterials designed for targeted drug delivery. Ligands are molecules that bind to other molecules.
With the exception of skin cancers, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in American women.
Thousands of women die from breast cancer each year. Patients with triple negative cells are especially vulnerable, because of the toxic side effects of the only approved treatment for this type of cancer. The researchers have addressed this problem by developing a co-formulation that targets cancer cells and has no effect on healthy cells.
Credit: Image provided by Hassan Beyzavi, University of Arkansas.
As an alternative to chemotherapy – and with significantly fewer side effects – targeted photodynamic therapy, or PDT, is a noninvasive approach that relies on a photosensitizer that, upon irradiation by light, generates so-called toxic reactive oxygen species, which kill cancer cells. In recent years, PDT has garnered attention because of its ability to treat tumors without surgery, chemotherapy or radiation.
The research team has specialized in integrating nanomaterials, such as metal-organic frameworks, with PDT and other therapies. Metal-organic frameworks significantly enhance the effectiveness of PDT.
The researchrs prepared the nanomaterials and then bio-conjugated them with ligands of the PDT drug to create nanoporous materials that specifically targeted and killed tumor cells with no toxicity in normal cells.
In addition to cancer treatment, this novel drug delivery system could also be used with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or fluorescence imaging, which can track the drug in the body and monitor the progress of cancer treatment.
News Source: Eurekalert
