Researchers experiment with nanodiamonds in cancer treatment
MAR 11, 2011
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.025127
NPR : Nanodiamonds—clusters of a few hundred carbon atoms—may find a use in the treatment of cancer. Researchers at Northwestern University infected lab mice with chemo-resistant breast and liver cancers and then tested two treatments. Mice that were injected with nanodiamonds covered in the drug doxorubicin fared better than those given unbound doxorubicin. Nanodiamond-bound doxorubicin tends to stick around in mice up to 10 times longer than unbound doxorubicin does, leading to a slower, more sustained therapy. The high retention of the nanodiamonds within tumors means that smaller, less harmful doses can be used. As nanodiamonds are already in use in the automotive industry as a lubricant, they are mass-produced and don’t cost much. The results of their work appear in the latest issue of Science Translational Medicine.
© 2011 American Institute of Physics
