New nanoparticle delivers two drugs to cancer cells

A new technique has been developed that enables nanoparticles to carry cancer drugs into the body to treat cancer cells. Researchers have created nanoparticles that are able to deliver two different drugs to the body, which then separate to take the drugs to different areas of the cancer cell in order to provide highly effective treatment. 

Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, US, have developed the technique that can create the nanoparticles. When tested upon mice in a laboratory, the researchers found that the nanoparticle treatment significantly reduced breast cancer tumours when compared to traditional treatment, according to Dr Zhen Gu, assistant professor in the joint biomedical engineering program at the universities. 

“Cancer cells can develop resistance to chemotherapy drugs, but are less likely to develop resistance when multiple drugs are delivered simultaneously. However, different drugs target different parts of the cancer cell. For example, the protein drug TRAIL is most effective against the cell membrane, while doxorubicin (Dox) is most effective when delivered to the nucleus," said Dr Gu.

The new nanoparticles are site specific in their delivery of the drugs, allowing for TRAIL to first be delivered to the membranes of the cancer cells. This then allows them to penetrate the membrane and to deliver Dox to the nucleus of the cell for a more effective form of treatment.

Researchers created the nanoparticles to have an outer shell that are formed of TRAIL woven together with hyaluronic acid (HA). The HA makes the cancer cell "grab" onto the nanoparticle by reacting with the cell's receptors. Enzymes then break the HA down, allowing for the release of TRAIL into the membrane, which then triggers the death of the cell.

This breakdown of HA also uncovers the centre of the nanoparticle, which allows the Dox to reach the nucleus of the cancer cell. The centre of the nanoparticle also contains peptides will make the endosome, which encases the cancer cell's nucleus, to breakdown, allowing for the delivery of Dox, triggering cell death.