Scientists at the University of California, San Diego and Santa Barbara, and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have jointly developed a nano-worm that can swim freely in blood vessels. It can search for and hit tumor cells like a missile without a short time. It is expelled from the blood by the body's immune system. This result was published in the recently published "Advanced Materials" magazine.
The scientists linked spherical nanoscale iron oxide particles to form a 30 nanometer-long, "worm-like" nanoworm, which is 3 million times smaller than a true worm. Using nanoworms, doctors can not only find already-formed tumors, but they can even locate emerging tumors. Due to the small size of the unshaped tumor, traditional methods are difficult to detect. The iron oxides in nanoworms have superparamagnetism. They can be brightened in an MRI imager. When multiple iron oxide molecules are combined together, they can provide stronger magnetism to make the signal brighter and help doctors to be more precise. Diagnose tumors.
Most nanoscale particles can be recognized, captured, and removed by the body's immune system, but nanoworms do not. The scientists injected nanoworms into the blood of cancer-producing mice and found that nanoworms, unlike spherical nanoparticles of comparable size, are not expelled from the blood by the immune system but remain for hours, and they can find tumor sites. And polymerize on the tumor surface. The leader of the team, Mike Seler, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego, said that these nanoworms can use their own shape and their surface polymers to evade the body's foreign body removal mechanism. Experiments have shown that nanoworms are in mice. Cycled for many hours.
Because of its long size, nanoworms can remain in the blood of organisms for a long time. This important feature gives them more opportunities to attack their target tumors. In addition to the polymer coat of dextran, scientists have also installed a tumor-recognizing molecule on the nanoworm. This peptide, called F3, looks for tumors and directs nanoworms to reach tumor cells, similar to the positioning system on missiles. Due to the long shape of the nanoworm, it can carry multiple F3 molecules at the same time, and the combined action of these molecules greatly enhances the ability of the nanoworm to reach the tumor.
Currently, researchers are studying the binding of drugs to nanoworms and chemically adding some specific codes on the outside so that they can accurately reach specific tumor cells, organs, or other parts of the body.
The scientists linked spherical nanoscale iron oxide particles to form a 30 nanometer-long, "worm-like" nanoworm, which is 3 million times smaller than a true worm. Using nanoworms, doctors can not only find already-formed tumors, but they can even locate emerging tumors. Due to the small size of the unshaped tumor, traditional methods are difficult to detect. The iron oxides in nanoworms have superparamagnetism. They can be brightened in an MRI imager. When multiple iron oxide molecules are combined together, they can provide stronger magnetism to make the signal brighter and help doctors to be more precise. Diagnose tumors.
Most nanoscale particles can be recognized, captured, and removed by the body's immune system, but nanoworms do not. The scientists injected nanoworms into the blood of cancer-producing mice and found that nanoworms, unlike spherical nanoparticles of comparable size, are not expelled from the blood by the immune system but remain for hours, and they can find tumor sites. And polymerize on the tumor surface. The leader of the team, Mike Seler, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego, said that these nanoworms can use their own shape and their surface polymers to evade the body's foreign body removal mechanism. Experiments have shown that nanoworms are in mice. Cycled for many hours.
Because of its long size, nanoworms can remain in the blood of organisms for a long time. This important feature gives them more opportunities to attack their target tumors. In addition to the polymer coat of dextran, scientists have also installed a tumor-recognizing molecule on the nanoworm. This peptide, called F3, looks for tumors and directs nanoworms to reach tumor cells, similar to the positioning system on missiles. Due to the long shape of the nanoworm, it can carry multiple F3 molecules at the same time, and the combined action of these molecules greatly enhances the ability of the nanoworm to reach the tumor.
Currently, researchers are studying the binding of drugs to nanoworms and chemically adding some specific codes on the outside so that they can accurately reach specific tumor cells, organs, or other parts of the body.