NANO POETRY

Dokter Chien Ho, professor of biological sciences at USA Carnegie Mellon University and colleagues, have developed a novel way to improve delivery of chemotherapy nanodrugs with fewer side effects in treating cancer. By using ‘Intralipid’, an FDA-approved nutrition source (Food and Drug Administration). It reduces the amount of the toxic drugs that settle in the spleen, liver and kidneys; non-targeting organs. This study was published on nature.com – scientific reports.

SIDE-EFFECTS

Nanodrugs, drugs attached to tiny biocompatible particles, show great promise in treatment of a number of diseases, including cancer. Delivery of these drugs, however, is not very efficient. Only about 0.7 percent of chemotherapy nanodrugs reach their target tumor cells. The remainder are absorbed by other cells, including those in the liver, spleen and kidneys. When the drugs build up in these organs, they cause toxicity and side-effects that negatively impact a patient’s quality of life.

According to dokter Ho; ‘This methodology could have a major impact in the delivery of nanodrugs, not only for patients undergoing chemotherapy for cancer treatment, but also to those being treated with nanodrugs for other conditions’.

TECHNOPHOBIA

A lot op people have great fear of new technologies. As the great Johan Cruyff once said, who died from cancer, aged 68; ‘Every disadvantage has its advantage’… There are plenty of downsides from technology’s impact. It needs controling, monitoring and managing. On the other hand, technology makes our lives easier; nanotechnology is just one example of the promising future of ’techno poetry’…