Medicine designed at nanoscale offers innovative ways to treat serious diseases such as cancer. Research now also shows that the body’s immune system plays a crucial role in how the drug is delivered. These tiny drugs have the ability to find the diseased cells in the body and carry the medicine to them. This means less drugs are used, causing less side effects. It is now shown that using water-soluble polymers to encapsulate the drugs in small polymeric particles is very beneficial in order to move past the defense system. However, scientists must be careful when designing the surface of the nanoparticles because there is fine balances between being hydrophilic enough to be compatible with biological fluids yet prevent complement activation.
See: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110301122053.htm
Posted by Rebecca Amster
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I did research on this last semester and found that by using these nano medicines they would be helpful for the most part. With less side effects to worry about and after more research is done with these drugs it seems like they could make a big impact on cancer patients.
ReplyDeleteOften times in cancer patients, the treatments (radiation, chemo, etc.) kill healthy cells along with cancer cells. If this technology can find the diseased cells and send the medicine directly to them, that could really be beneficial! It seems like it might not only cut down on the number and intensity of side effects, but also on the recovery time.
ReplyDeleteDesigning a nano molecule which does not interfere with the biological radar is extremely complicated. Yet simplistic at the same time. I find it most wonderful how the human body is able to recognize pathogens or foreign objects and bombards it with cells to fight it. When there is actually cancer which is seen in the body to be normal not raising a flag. This must mean the body is out of order biochemically, and still functioning in the lowest state of biological evolution.
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