Gold Nanoparticles Deliver Anti Cancer Drugs with DNA

Scientists of the Chemistry Department at Syracuse University have developed a system to deliver drugs to treat cancer tumors using gold nanoparticles.

The attached DNA connects to an anti-cancer drug, Doxorubicin or DOX. Initial experiments show this could enhance chemotherapy results. DOX is at present used to treat cancers of the breast, bone marrow, thyroid, bladder, ovary and small cell lung. Professor James C. Dabrowiak says this could enhance the device molecules targeting cancer cells.

The DNA on the gold particles is designed to bind to the DOX anti-tumor drug. Studies show that the DOX can be diffused to be moved to a receptor DNA molecule. The gold nanoparticles measure about 15.5 nanometers in diameter. An individual nanoparticle delivers more than 100 DOX spots and could attack the tumor on a massive scale when multiplied. The anti-tumor drug DOX has been approved by FDA. The DNA could be designed to bind to other drug molecules to treat other diseases.

The work of the Syracuse University team was published in the February 2011 issue of ChemComm, a publication of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Source: http://www.syr.edu/