Trojan Nano-Particles That Kill Tumors

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When silicone nano-particles with a diameter of just 30 nanometers put on the disguise of Phenylalanine they can sneak into a tumor. In there they can force it to suicide.

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Image by Colin Behrens from Pixabay

Various nano-particles are finding their place in the fight against tumors. Recently, experts from Singapore created new and incredible “Trojan” nano-particles that can successfully deal blows to tumors in both Petri dishes and lab mice. It seems to time-proven Greek tactic still has its merits even after three thousand years.

Dalton Tay and his colleagues from the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore created the Trojan nano-particle by putting it into molecules of the aminoacid-L Phenylalanine. This is one of the essential amino acids which cannot be synthesized by the human body but it does need it. So we need to find Phenylalanine in our foods.

At the same time, tumors need Phenylalanine as well. So, Tay and his colleagues used this to their benefit. They took nano-particles of silicon dioxide which are deemed to be safe for medicine. Then they covered them by molecules of Phenylalanine and found that it works. The best thing is that there is no medicine involved. No drugs are used. Silicone dioxide is the medicine as it can make the tumor cell commit suicide.

Tay’s team created therapeutic nanoparticles with a size of just 30 nanometers. So, they are about 30-thousand times smaller than a human hair. They were named Nanoscopic phenylalanine Porous Amino Acid Mimics or Nano-pPAAM.

The nano-particles target only tumor cells, are decently deadly, and don’t need to be deactivated. And since there are no drugs used it is much simpler to prepare such a treatment. That means this treatment should be much cheaper and thus more available.

The Trojan nano-particles Nano-pPAAM enter the tumor cells thanks to the amino acid transporter LAT1. When they get in, they start the production of a large number of oxygen radicals – simple but very reactive molecules. So, the tumor cell just commits suicide.

The researchers already tested their nano-particles in experiments. The results show that Nano-pPAAM kills about 80 % of breast, skin, and stomach cancer cells. That is an effectivity comparable to more conventional anti-tumor treatments. And the development is still ongoing. So, in the future, they could become a new platform to treat various types of tumors.

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