Nanosized Drug Delivery System Has Big Impact on Cancer Cells

Researchers are reporting for the first time that nanoparticles 1/5,000 the diameter of a human hair encapsulating an experimental anticancer agent have been shown to kill human melanoma and drug-resistant breast cancer cells growing in laboratory cultures. This discovery could lead to the development of a new generation of anti-cancer drugs that are safer and more effective than conventional chemotherapy agents.

The research was published in the December 10, 2008, issue of the American Chemical Society's journal Nano Letters. In the new study, Drs. Mark Kester, James Adair, and colleagues at Pennsylvania State University Hershey Medical Center and University Park (Penn State; USA) campus point out that specific nanoparticles have shown promise as drug delivery vehicles. However, many of these particles will not dissolve in body fluids and are toxic to cells, making them unsuitable for drug delivery in humans. Although promising as an anti-cancer agent, ceramide also is insoluble in the blood stream, making delivery to cancer cells difficult.

The scientists reported a potential solution for this problem with the development of calcium phosphate nanocomposite particles (CPNPs). The particles are soluble and with ceramide encapsulated with the calcium phosphate, effectively make ceramide soluble. With ceramide encapsulated inside, the CPNPs killed 95% of human melanoma cells and was "highly effective” against human breast cancer cells that are normally resistant to anticancer drugs.

Penn State Research Foundation has licensed the calcium phosphate nanocomposite particle technology known as NanoJackets to Keystone Nano, Inc. (Boalsburg, PA, USA).

Related Links:
Pennsylvania State University Medical Center
Keystone Nano