MELBOURNE, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Nano-scale capsules may one day deliver cancer drugs directly to tumors, releasing the medication when heated by a low-energy laser, says a study.
The study by the University of Melbourne, Australia, has found a way to enclose cancer drugs in polymer capsules that are peppered with gold nanoparticles and attached to tumor-seeking antibodies.
After injection into the bloodstream the drug-laden antibodies seek out the tumors, the study says. Once enough capsules have accumulated inside the tumors, a near-infrared laser is used to melt the gold, which strongly absorbs near-infrared wavelengths. This ruptures the capsules releasing the medication in a deadly burst.
To make the capsules, the researchers repeatedly added a polymer to a suspension of drug particles until the polymer formed multi-layered spheres containing the drug. They then added gold particles to the mix, which became embedded in the polymer. An outer layer was created when a lipid and the antibodies were added.
A report on the approach appears volume 16 of the journal Advanced Materials.
