Scientists Have Created Nanoparticles That Treat Cancer And Not Harm The Body

Researchers from the Lomonosov Moscow State University together with their German colleagues were able to demonstrate the applicability of silicon nanoparticles for cancer diagnosis and treatment, for the first time demonstrated their ability to effectively penetrate into the diseased cells and releasing the entrapped drug quickly decompose, do not accumulate in the body. The details of the work they are told in an article published in the latest issue of the journal Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine.

The direction in which the scientists called theranostics work. The term is composed of the word "therapy" and "diagnosis" refers to the process of simultaneous diagnosis of the disease and its treatment. One application of theranostics - detection and treatment of a number of cancer using nanoparticles filled with medicine and targeted fall into a cancer cell. Today, many of these nanoparticles do not meet the requirement of biocompatibility. According to one of the study participants Lyubov Osminkin (senior researcher of the Physics Department of Moscow State University), when you enter into the body nanoparticles act quickly, get where you want to cure this or that disease, but after a few months the patient will start to hurt the liver, kidneys, lungs or brain.

"That's because the nanoparticles of gold, silver, titanium oxide, cadmium selenide, and a myriad of other fact of the body are not displayed, - says Love Osminkina. - If you get into the bloodstream they get stuck in the internal organs, and after a while begin to cause damage to the body due to prolonged toxic effects. "

Looking not only biocompatible, biodegradable and transporters for targeted drug delivery scientists have paid attention to the silicon. Nanoparticles, "woven" out of it, just do not hurt the body - and even assist - as the result of the collapse of a silicic acid necessary for the body to strengthen bones and connective tissue growth.

Just these nanoparticles and to make love Osminkina when received in 2013 the DAAD grant-State University "Vladimir Vernadsky" (a joint program of research fellowships MSU and the German Academic Exchange Service DAAD) for photoluminescent nanoparticles of porous silicon nanowires for theranostics. To work, she went to Jena, the Institute of Photonic Technology (Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology), one of the main aims of which is biophotonics - the use of optical techniques for the study of living systems. Particular attention is a young employee of the Moscow State University drew used herein Raman micro-spectroscopy (Raman spectroscopy).

The Raman spectroscopy based on the ability of molecules to a so-called inelastic scattering of monochromatic light that is accompanied by a change of the internal state and thus change the frequency response of the emitted photons. This type of spectroscopy distinguishes the relative simplicity and abundance of information obtained - enough to illuminate a laser material and analyze the spectrum of the radiation. At the Institute of Photonic Technology, among many other optical methods used and Raman micro-spectroscopy. With it, scientists scanned the contents of a living cell and comparing the spectra obtained, lined up a picture of what and where it is located.

"That's when I came up with the idea to conduct a study of biodegradation of the nanoparticles using Raman micro-spectroscopy, - the scientist says. - This technique makes it possible not only to locate the nanoparticles in the cell (the signals from the silicon cells and components are at different frequencies), but watch the process of its disintegration. The latter was probably because, as already known, the Raman spectrum of silicon nanoparticles depends on its size - less than it, so it becomes broader and shifted to lower frequencies'.

Upon successful completion of the study in its grant Osminkina wins another grant DAAD-State University - is now in the implementation of its new ideas - and again goes to Jena. The essence of the new study Osminkin and her colleagues came to the fact that breast cancer cells were incubated with silicon nanoparticles 100 nm in size, and then, in particular, Raman micro-spectrometer, scientists have observed what happens in the cells during the different periods of time from 5 hours to 13 days . According to the Raman spectrum and the reconstructed images of these particles and the cells they saw in the first 5-9 hours of nanoparticles localized on cell membranes and penetrate into the cell for the next day and then begin to biodegrade, as evidenced by a decrease in signal amplitude, spectrum expansion and the appearance of the peak of the amorphous silicon phase. On the 13th day of the nanoparticles dissolve completely and the signal disappears.

"Thus, - says Love Osminkina - the first time we have shown that porous silicon nanoparticles could be completely harmless to the body theranostics agent for many cancers. They are not only easily penetrate into the diseased cell, but if they impregnate the pores through the drug can produce its therein during its decay. I believe that the results of our work are of great importance in the long term on the basis of the creation of biocompatible and biodegradable silicon nanoparticles of drugs. "