New UCLA Machine May Kill Cancer Cells

Researchers working at the Nano Machine Center in the California NanoSystems Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), have built a new, innovative nanomachine that will catch and keep anticancer drugs in small pores, then when exposed to light, release them into cancer cells.

Called the "nanoimpeller," the machine is the first of its kind that can work inside of a living cell. This development holds great potential as a cancer treatment, as well as in nanoscience in general.

Conducted by UCLA professor of chemistry Jeffrey Zink and UCLA professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetis, Fuyu Tamanoi, the study's results appeared in the March 31st edition of Small, the nanoscience journal.

"We developed a mechanism that releases small molecules in aqueous and biological environments during exposure to light," Zink explained. "The nanomachines are positioned in molecular-sized pores inside of spherical particles and function in aqueous and biological environments."

Tamanoi went further, saying "the achievement here is gaining precise control of the amount of drugs that are released by controlling the light exposure. Controlled release to a specific location is the key issue, and the release is only activated by where the light is shining."

In a joint statement released by the two scientists, the duo said that, "we were extremely excited to discover that the machines were taken up by the cancer cells and that they responded to the light. We observed cell killing as a result of programmed cell death." The statement went on to explain "this system has potential applications for precise drug delivery and might be the next generation for novel platform for the treatment of cancers such as colon and stomach cancer."

Other members of the research team includes Jie Lue and Eunshil Choi.

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