Soon, the (Welcome) End of Chemotherapy
Even were there no further advances in cell-killing methods, the use of targeting nanoparticles to deliver existing cell-killing drugs would result in a great improvement in cancer therapies. Here, researchers "used a drug called Taxol for their cell culture studies [because] it is one of the most widely used chemotherapeutic drugs. Taxol normally causes many negative side effects because it travels throughout the body and damages healthy tissue as well as cancer cells. ... Taxol-carrying nanoparticles [are] modified so they carry the drug only to the cancer cells, allowing targeted cancer treatment without harming healthy cells. This is achieved by attaching a vitamin (folic acid) derivative that cancer cells like to consume in high amounts. Because the nanoparticles also carry a fluorescent dye and an iron oxide magnetic core, their locations within the cells and the body can be seen by optical imaging and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). That allows a physician to see how the tumor is responding to the treatment. The nanoparticles also can be engineered without the drug and used as imaging (contrast) agents for cancer. If there is no cancer, the biodegradable nanoparticles will not bind to the tissue and will be eliminated by the liver. The iron oxide core will be utilized as regular iron in the body."
Link: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-06/uocf-urn061609.php