Carbon Na**tubes Purified/Modified to Deliver Chemo to Pancreatic Cancer Cells
[IMG]http://cdn.medgadget.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/na**particles-for-pancreatic-cancer.jpg[/IMG]Rice researchers found that chemotherapy agents attached to Na**tubes are too large to go through the pores of **rmal blood vessels (left), but small e**ugh to pass through the pores of cancer-related vessels. Once through, the customized Na**tubes can be taken up by Cancer Cells to Deliver their therapeutic cargoes. Courtesy of Rei Suzuki/University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center)
Pancreatic Cancer is a vicious disease that attacks its victims with great speed, is hard to detect, and for which meaningful therapies are nearly***nexistent. Getting Chemo ***** to reach Pancreatic tumor Cells with precision is a challenge. To overcome this, researchers at Rice University and MD Anderson Cancer Center have been testing a method that relies on Carbon Na**tubes to Deliver Chemo precisely into Cancer cells, and then onward into the cells’ nuclei.
[IMG]http://cdn.medgadget.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/na**-side-2.jpg[/IMG]Laser confocal microscopy images show Na**tubes combined with polyethyleneimine and fluorescent tags can be taken up by Pancreatic Cancer cells. The top image shows Na**tubes with rhodamine B dye in the cells; the center image shows a DAPI-stained cell and the bottom image combines the two. Courtesy of Enrico Andreoli/Barron Group
The scientists used a technique called functionalization, which allows Chemo agents to be attached to the na**tubes. Scientists also did a good deal of experimentation to discover what size tubes are best for the job. Turns out that 50 na**meters in length was ideal.
The tubes were flushed with chlorine to get rid of oxidizing iron particles that are used as a catalyst during the tubes’ creation. Additionally, the Na**tubes had a polyethyleneimine (PEI) coating added to their surface, helping the tubes disperse and pass through Cells walls and into the nucleus.*Shaking up the tubes, presumably using ultrasound, forces them to release their cargo and finally hit their target with a deadly strike from within. The researchers plan to begin testing the new tech**logy on mice who will have allografts of human tumors transplanted into them.
Some details from the study abstract:
High quality single-walled Carbon Na**tubes (SWNTs) were obtained following a new purification procedure, based on using Cl2 gas at high temperature. Cl2-treated SWNTs were fluorinated and modified with branched polyethyleneimine (PEI) to afford covalently functionalised PEI-SWNTs, which were then tested for cytotoxicity both in vitro (HPNE and BxPC3 Pancreatic cell lines) and in vivo (BxPC3 xe**grafts from nude mice) to establish that functionalization with lower molecular weight PEI (600 and 1800 Da) achieved higher cell viability in MTT assay. A shortened version of the na**tubes, PEI(1800)-cut-SWNT (1800 Da branched PEI), was also prepared and tested for cellular internalization in BxPC3 ade**carci**ma cell line. Laser confocal imaging of the Cells after incubation in the presence of RhoB-PEI(1800)-cut-SWNT (covalently labelled with rhodamine B) indicates that the PEI(1800)-cut-SWNTs can reach both the cytoplasm and nucleus of Pancreatic Cancer cells.
06-09-2014, 10:50 PM
Carbon Na**tubes Purified/Modified to Deliver Chemo to Pancreatic Cancer Cells
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