Tumor-Microenvironment-Responsive Nanoconjugate for Synergistic Antivascular Activity and Phototherapy

A two-pronged tumour attack

28 August 2019

Nanoparticles developed by researchers in China can deliver a one–two punch to tumours when used in combination with laser light.

Destroying tumours using highly focused light in combination with drugs transported in the bloodstream is an attractive treatment approach for certain cancers. But its effectiveness is reduced by various factors, including limited supply of oxygen.

Now, a team in China that included a researcher from Northwestern Polytechnical University has designed nanoparticles made from direct-acting antiviral molecules that can hurt a tumour in two different ways.

In a mouse model, the team showed that, when activated by the acidic microenvironment of a tumour, the nanoparticles boosted the effectiveness of treatment by laser light. They also attacked the blood vessels that nourish the tumour, limiting the tumour’s ability to grow and spread to other regions.

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References

1. ACS Nano 12, 11446–11457 (2018). doi: 10.1021/acsnano.8b06478