Researchers Use Nanoparticles, Magnetic Current to Damage Cancerous Cells in Mice
Summary posted by Meridian on 3/29/2012
Source: University of Georgia (27 March 2012)
Author(s): Kathleen Raven
Iron oxide nanoparticles and alternating magnetic fields can kill head and neck cancerous tumors in mice in half an hour, according to researchers at the University of Georgia, United States. It is the first time this cancer type has been treated using magnetic iron oxide nanoparticle-induced hyperthermia in laboratory mice. Qun Zhao, the lead author and an assistant professor of physics, said, “We show that we can use a small concentration of nanoparticles to kill the cancer cells." The treatment, which involves injecting a tiny amount of nanoparticle solution directly into the tumor site, then wrapping the animal in a plastic tube and wire coil that generates magnetic fields, easily destroyed the cells of the cancerous tumors. The magnetic fields produced by the wire coil only heat the concentrated nanoparticles within the tumor, leaving the surrounding healthy cells and tissue unharmed. Zhao added that the nanoparticles could also be useful in magnetic resonance imaging at a cancer site. "The reason I am interested in using these magnetic nanoparticles is because we hope to one day be able to offer diagnosis and therapeutics, or theranostics, using a single agent," Zhao said. Zhao plans to conduct studies on larger animals before considering a human clinical trial. The work was published in the journal Theranostics.
The original article may still be available at http://news.uga.edu/releases/article/uga-researchers-use-nanoparticles-alternating-magnetic-current-to-dama/