Israeli Researchers Use Nanotechnology to Create a Chemotherapy "Smart Bomb" to Fight Cancer

B"H

This is such exciting news!  Now, perhaps, those being treated with chemotherapy can avoid all the horrible side affects and get even more effective treatment to kill their cancer.

Already my mind is swimming with possibilities of other uses for this nanotechnology!  Wouldn't it be wonderful if they could deliver medicine directly to arthritis-damaged joints, or how about targeting specific brain or nerve tissues with enzymes to restore mobility or help slow serious nerve diseases. . . wow.  There are so many possibilities in our future--so many new ways to heal the sick.

Thank G-d for the wisdom, intellect, and creativity of this new generation of healers!!

M

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Israeli Researchers: A Precision Bomb for Cancer Cells
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/139300
by Baruch Gordon

Chemotherapy, while considered an effective cancer treatment, also brings debilitating side effects such as nausea, liver toxicity and a battered immune system. 

Now, a new way to deliver this life-saving therapy to cancer patients has been developed by researches at Tel Aviv University. The breakthrough technology consists of a nano-sized vehicle with the ability to deliver chemotherapy drugs directly into cancer cells while avoiding interaction with healthy cells, increasing the efficiency of chemotherapeutic treatment while reducing its side effects.



Dr.  Dan Peer of Tel Aviv University’s Department of Cell Research and Immunology and Prof. Rimona Margalit of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology led the research.
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“The vehicle is very similar to a cluster bomb,” explains Dr. Peer. Inside the nano-vehicle itself are tiny particles of chemotherapy drugs. When the delivery vehicle comes into contact with cancer cells, it releases the chemotherapeutic payload directly into the cell. According to Dr. Peer, the nano-medical device can be used to treat many different types of cancer, including lung, blood, colon, breast, ovarian, pancreatic, and even several types of brain cancers.

The finding was recently reported in the journal Biomaterials.

A Sweet Payload to Trick Cancer
The  key to the drug delivery platform is the molecule used to create the outer coating of this cluster nano-vehicle, a sugar recognized by receptors on many types of cancer cells. “When the nano-vehicle interacts with the receptor on the cancerous cell, the receptor undergoes a structural change and the chemotherapy payload is released directly into the cancer cell,” says Dr. Peer, which leads to more focused chemotherapeutic treatment against the diseased cells.

Because  the nano-vehicle reacts only to cancer cells, the healthy cells that surround them remain untouched and unaffected by the therapy. The nano-vehicle itself, adds Dr. Peer, is made from organic materials which  fully decompose in the body once it has performed its function, making the treatment safer than current therapies.

Clinical Trials Coming Soon
This  drug will be an improvement on anything currently on the market, says Dr. Peer. Delivering chemotherapeutics directly into cancerous cells themselves is not only more potent, but also much safer.

Drs. Peer  and Margalit are working with ORUUS Pharma in California, which has licensed the “cluster bomb” platform from the university and can ensure a  quick transition from the lab to clinical trials, which should begin in  two years or less, says Dr. Peer.
(IsraelNationalNews.com)