Magnetic Nanoparticles Used to Extract Cancer Cells

A recent paper described a novel method for treating cancer by attaching magnetic nanoparticles to the cancer cells and using a strong magnet to remove them from the body.

Investigators at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, USA) mated cancer cell-specific peptides with magnetic cobalt spinel ferrite nanoparticles. In this study, they employed peptide ligands directed at EphA2 receptors on mouse ovarian cancer cells. By using peptide ligands, the investigators hoped to minimize interaction between the nanoparticles and components of the animal's immune system.

Results published in the July 9, 2008, online edition of the Journal of the American Chemical Society revealed that the peptide-coated nanoparticles allowed cell capture from a flow stream in vitro and from the peritoneal cavity of mice with ovarian cancer.

"We have been able to use magnetic nanoparticles to capture free-floating cancer cells and then take them out of the body,” said contributing author Dr. John McDonald, professor of biology at the Georgia Institute of Technology. "This technology may be of special importance in the treatment of ovarian cancer where the malignancy is typically spread by free-floating cancer cells released from the primary tumor into the abdominal cavity.”


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Georgia Institute of Technology