A Patch of Nanorods and Spheres to Treat Tumors
MIT bioengineers have developed a patch of nanoparticles that can be attached to a tumor or to the tumor site after resection. As this piece describes: “The hydrogel patch contains gold nanorods loaded with chemotherapy drugs. Heating up the nanorods via the local application of infrared radiation kills off nearby tumor cells, and causes the chemotherapy drugs to be released. Gold nanospheres are also embedded in the patch. They’re engineered so as not to heat up in the presence of infrared radiation, but instead stay cool, delivering RNA, or gene therapy, to the site. The therapy silences a particular gene central to colorectal cancer, responsible for causing healthy cells to mutate into tumor cells. The beauty of the patch is that it can be used at multiple stages during treatment. It can be placed at a tumor site, shrinking it down prior to removal, or applied to the inner surface of the colon following removal, lowering the chance of dangerous cells surviving.” MORE
Image Credit: MIT/Ella Maru and GizMag.com