MIT researchers have designed a nanoparticle that can burrow into a tumor, seal the exits and detonate a lethal dose of anti-cancer toxins, all while leaving healthy cells unscathed.

Using ready-made drugs and materials, “we created a balloon within a balloon, resembling an actual cell,” explains Shiladitya Sengupta, a postdoctoral associate.

The team loaded the outer membrane of the nanocell with an anti-angiogenic drug (that cuts off the blood supply to starve tumors to death) and the inner balloon with chemotherapy agents. The nanocells are small enough to pass through tumor vessels, but too large for the pores of normal vessels.

Once the nanocell is inside the tumor, its outer membrane disintegrates, rapidly deploying the drug. The blood vessels feeding the tumor then collapse, trapping the loaded nanoparticle in the tumor, where it slowly releases the chemotherapy.

When tested in mice, the nanocell shrank the tumor, stopped angiogenesis and avoided systemic toxicity much better than other treatment and delivery variations. However, the nanocell worked better against melanoma than lung cancer, indicating the need to tweak the design for different cancers.

Via MIT news.

Australians are also working on “smart bombs” that blast cancer tumours.