Study: Nanoparticles good as Trojan horses

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Study: Nanoparticles good as Trojan horses Source: UPI

PHILADELPHIA (UPI) -- University of Pennsylvania scientists say

biodegradable nanoparticles containing two cancer-fighting drugs are

effective in killing human breast tumors.

The researchers say unique properties of the hollow shell nanoparticles,

known as polymersomes, allow them to deliver two distinct drugs --

paclitaxel, the leading cancer drug known by brand names such as Taxol,

and doxorubicin -- directly to tumors implanted in mice.

" The system provides a number of advantages over other Trojan

horse-style drug delivery (systems), and should prove a useful tool in

fighting a number of diseases, " said Dennis Discher, a professor in the

university's School of Engineering and Applied Science. He said the

polymersomes break down in the acidic environment of the cancer cells,

allowing the targeting of the drugs.

The study's lead author, Fariyal Ahmed, now a Harvard Medical School

fellow, said: " Recent studies have shown that cocktails of paclitaxel

and doxorubicin lead to better tumor regression than either drug alone,

but there hasn't been any carrier system that can carry both drugs as

efficiently to a tumor. Polymersomes get around those limitations "

Discher developed polymersomes with Penn bioengineer Hammer in

the 1990s.

The study appears online in the journal Molecular Pharmaceutics.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International