THE POWER
OF NANOGOLD IN CANCER
Cancer
is the current leading cause of death worldwide responsible for approximately
one quarter of all deaths in USA and UK. Nanotechnologies provide tremendous
opportunities for the treatment of the cancer.
Among them gold nanoparticles to the
cancer cell and hitting them with a laser has been shown
to
be a promising tool in fighting cancer.
The scientists tells that “Once you cut the size of gold down to a few
nanometers, its properties change and it reacts with other elements, catalyzes
reactions and interacts with light, which makes it valuable for medical
applications” . It is realized that gold nanoparticles have advantages over
other nanostructures because they can achieve both diagnostics and therapy
simultaneously.
By using gold nano and infrared light MIT
researchers have developed a drug delivery system that allows multiple drugs to
be released in a controlled fashion. By directing gold nanoparticles into the nuclei of cancer cells,
they can not only prevent them from
multiplying, but can kill them where they lurk. By attaching nanoparticle to an existing drug,
researches may not only be to lower toxicity, but they may also significant
life expectancy gains for patient. The biosafety of gold nanoparticles are important
in clinical trials. The gold nanoparticles increase the efficacy of the anti
cancer drugs and ensures better retention of the drug in the tumors, and hence
less amount of drug is needed. Delivery devices
already exist can release two drugs, but the timing of
the result must be built inside the cell
-it cannot be controlled outside the body. The new system
is controlled externally and theoretically could
deliver three or four drugs.
Gold
nanoparticles interact with light and have strong and tunable surface Plasmon
resonance, which can be detected using multiple imaging modalities. These
provide an unique opportunity for their potential application in optical
imaging for early detection of cancer. By changing the shape of the
nanospheres to cylindrical gold nano rods, the researchers were able to use
near-infrared laser light to detect malignant tumors hidden more deeply under
the skin and selectively destroy them without harming the healthy cells.”Since
light converted into heat selectively kills cancer cells, this treatment can be
used for different kinds of cancers, avoids normal drug resistance and does not
require invasive surgery, thus avoiding post surgery infections”.
The
researches on gold nanoparticles as drug delivery for anticancer drugs are
progressing. Researchers claim that their approach is very promising.
Vandana
Kamath,
Second pharm.D
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