CANCER NANOTECHNOLOGY: A REVOLUTION IN CANCER THERAPY
By Amina Anjum (BS Biotechnology)
Image: https://images.app.goo.gl/wVyX4YudGmoGhgWLA
The second-leading cause
of death on the globe is cancer. Annually, more than ten million cases of
cancers are diagnosed and 7.6 million people lose their precious lives because
of fatal cancer. On the basic level, cancer transforms normal cells to abnormal
cells which grow rapidly without getting differentiated. Other than cancer
nanotechnology other therapies are also done to treat cancer but they are not
much effective as cancer nanotechnology. Along with this, the diagnosis of
cancer mostly takes place at late stages, which is a great hindrance in the way
to treat cancer. So, in order to compensate all these drawbacks, certain
revolutionary technologies are on their way, but the most prominent name in the
list is ‘Cancer Nanotechnology’.
What is Revolutionary Cancer Nanotechnology?
The main aim of cancer therapy is to bring about targeted attack of adequate concentrations of anti-tumour agents, thereby, killing only the cancer cells. For this reason, the ligand-targeted therapeutic approach seeks the spotlight, involving the use of immunotoxins and immunoconjugates drug. Immunotoxins are immune substances, chemically linked to a toxic substance. The immune substance binds to specific proteins or receptors found on some cancer cells. This allows the linked toxic substance to enter the cancer cells and kill them without harming nearby healthy cells whereas immunoconjugates are a type of treatment that uses an immune substance, which is chemically linked to a cell-killing substance such as a toxin, radioisotope, or drug. The immune substance targets certain types of cells and the linked substance kills the targeted cells without harming other cells. Immunoconjugates are used in the treatment of cancer. Examples include antibody-drug conjugates, immunotoxins, and some targeted therapy drugs. Undoubtedly, this approach is quite efficient and worthwhile, but the only problem is the targeted delivery of these agents on the sites of cancer. In order to combat this issue, the use of nanotechnology in cancer therapy is introduced. Nanoparticles are very beneficial in the delivery of drugs. Nanoparticles, of size 10nm to 100nm, act as nanocarriers for carrying drugs to specific sites. Along with providing specificity, nanoparticles are a great tool for diagnostic purposes, and also they can carry multiple drugs at a time, thereby, avoiding drug resistance. So, cancer nanotechnology is a great advancement and revolutionary innovation for cancer therapies.
Nanomaterials for Cancer Therapy:
Nanotechnology plays a dual role i.e., in diagnostics as well as therapeutics, collectively known as the agonistics. Nanomaterials, as a consequence of their small size, are capable enough to detect even a single cancerous cell in vivo. Nanomaterials such as dendrimers (highly branched, star-shaped macromolecules with nanometer-scale dimensions and are important for cancer diagnosis by cancer imaging). Carbon nanotubes (act as nano-sensors to detect altered DNA and nano-carriers for drug delivery), and quantum dots (nano-scale semiconducting crystals) etc., have been highly significant for diagnostic purposes. Certain nanomaterials play this role by interacting and binding with mutated DNA and proteins present in cancer cells and then giving certain observable signals which can be used to detect cancers and early molecular changes in cancer cells.
Tumour
Targeting:
The
question is how nanotechnology is helpful in diagnosing cancer? The first step
for diagnosing cancer is targeting tumour cells in which anti-cancerous drugs
are targeted on cancerous cells by effective discrimination between cancerous
and non-cancerous cells, and kills cancerous cells.
Two
major approaches involved in specific tumour targeting are active targeting and
passive targeting. Both of these tumour targeting approaches are discussed
below:
Ø Passive
Targeting: Basically, this approach takes into
account basic anatomical differences between normal and cancerous vasculature,
and later on, uses these differences to deliver drugs specifically to tumour
vasculature. The anti-cancerous drugs coated with nanoparticles are shown to
have higher circulation time, and they are capable of penetrating into
cancerous tissues because of leaky tumour vasculature, better known as enhanced
permeability and retention (EPR) effect.
Ø Active
Targeting: The main aim is to understand the chemical and physical nature of
receptors on the specific cancerous cell to be targeted. Later on, cell
receptor-specific ligands are created that assist nanoparticles coated drugs to
be delivered to the specific cancerous cell by binding to the receptors of
these cells, thereby, leading to
receptor-mediated endocytosis of anti-cancerous drugs.
Image:
https://images.app.goo.gl/E2Rbxq7whjw1oofy9
How nano-particles or nano-bots carry drugs to a particular area?
The nano-bots are very effective for drug delivery and by using nanotechnology the drug can be delivered to much precise location and it reduces the chances of side effects. The nano-bots drug carriers have 5–10 atoms thick walls and the inner drug-filled cell is usually 50–100 nm wide. When signs of the disease are detected by nano-bot particles, the thin wires in their walls emit an electrical pulse which causes the walls to dissolve and the drug to be released. A great advantage of using nano-bots for drug delivery is that the amount and time of drug release can be easily controlled by controlling the electrical pulse. Furthermore, the walls of the infected cells dissolve easily and are therefore harmless to the body.
Conclusion:
Nanotechnology is a revolution in cancer therapeutics that has the potential to overcome almost all the drawbacks of conventional cancer therapy in a more sophisticated and less invasive manner. Nanotechnology is a promising mean of specific drug delivery, with reduced toxicity, and higher efficiency, and is also crucial in terms of therapists. Scientists can positively use nanotechnology as a blessing in the world of cancer patients and save their precious lives. Revolutionary innovations have been carried out including production of crucial nanomaterials, but a lot more room is available for worthy discoveries and innovations yet to come. Nonetheless, nanotechnology is a ray of hope for cancer fighters.
Author's Information
Amina Anjum (BS Biotechnology) is the author of this article. She was inspired and encouraged by her mentor Miss Iqra Aslam (M-Phil Biochemistry), Lecturer of Biochemistry at University of Management and Technology, Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan.
Reviewer and Editor
Muhammad Numan (PhD Scholar) has reviewed and edited this article.
References:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1359644610002667
https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/ntrev.2014.3.issue-2/ntrev-2013-0013/ntrev-2013-0013.xml
Good Job!!!
ReplyDelete��
ReplyDeleteI’m impressed!
ReplyDeleteMay Allah bless you with a thousand such successes
ReplyDeleteGood job keep it up ....
very nice feeland
ReplyDeleteWow!
ReplyDeleteYou're doing great job Aminaa! 👑
ReplyDelete