Early days, but nanontechnology for healthcare starting to show its potential

While nanotechnology still has some way to go before it is used to treat cancer patients, new research is starting to give an insight into how it might be applied in years to come. A good example is work being carried out at the Northeastern University Electronic Materials Research Institute (eMRI), which is collaborating with Harvard Medical School researchers to develop a nanotechnology-based “smart implant” to treat cancer.

Researchers at the Massachusetts-based university say that the device could improve the efficiency of radiation and drug-based treatments for lung, pancreatic and prostate cancers. For example, radiation therapy requires that markers be inserted into the body to mark the location of the tumor so that the radiation can be accurately targeted.  In response, eMRI researchers have developed a nanoscale, porous coating containing anti-cancer drugs, designed to envelop the tumor marker. Once the “smart” marker is implanted, it would release the drugs into the tumor in a regulated dosage over a period of time.

In addition, the cancer drugs and other biological molecules included in the nanoporous coating would act as radio sensitizers to improve the targeting of radiation treatments.“We are seeking to utilize the technology developed at Northeastern to create smarter nanotechnology-based devices to treat cancer in a more targeted and timely manner,” says Michael Makrigioros, of Brigham & Women’s Hospital. “This technique, which will not be any more inconvenient for patients, could help increase the success rates of these and other cancer treatments in the future.”

In addition to Makrigioros,the researchers comprise a team of Northeastern research scientists and graduate and undergraduate students led by professor and physics department chair Srinivas Sridhar, director of the eMRI. In addition to Makrigioros,  they are partnering with Robert Cormack of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Both Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute are Harvard Medical School affiliates.