A new framework for drug-free cancer treatment

A multi-institutional research team has designed nanoparticles that can communicate with cancer cells and slow the development of cancer cells

Under the leadership of scientists at the University of New York’s Graduate Center for Advanced Scientific Research (CUNY ASRC), the research team was able to design nanoparticles that, when they encounter cancer cells, are activated to self-assemble and send messages instructing the cells to slow down.

"Cancer cells absorb substances from their surrounding environment, and they also secrete some factors that help them degrade the surrounding tissues, thereby spreading and metastasis," Richard Huang is the first author of the paper, he is the Graduate Center of the City University of New York ( GC CUNY) is a doctoral student and a researcher at the ASRC Nanoscience Program of the City University of New York and the Center for Discovery and Innovation of the City University of New York (CCNY)

One reason cancer progression is difficult to control is that cells secrete an abnormally large amount of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) enzyme, which breaks down the collagen that binds healthy tissues together

A highlight of this study is that the researchers were able to use confocal reflection microscopy to visualize the aggregation of nanoparticles in cancer cells in real time

"Through this research, we want to determine whether it is possible to use relatively simple peptide design to create powerful self-assembled nanoparticles in biological media and have an impact on tumor cells.

Further research is needed to fully utilize the therapeutic potential of the team's discovery

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Advanced Materials

DOI

10.