{"522051":{"#nid":"522051","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Nanoparticles deliver anticancer cluster bombs","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EScientists have devised a triple-stage \u0022cluster bomb\u0022 system for delivering the chemotherapy drug cisplatin, via tiny nanoparticles designed to break up when they reach a tumor.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDetails of the particles\u2019 design and their potency against cancer in mice were published this week in\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.pnas.org\/content\/early\/2016\/03\/23\/1522080113.abstract\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EPNAS\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. They have not been tested in humans, although similar ways of packaging cisplatin have been in clinical trials.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhat makes these particles distinctive is that they start out relatively large\u0026nbsp; -- 100 nanometers wide \u2013 to enable smooth transport into the tumor through leaky blood vessels. Then, in acidic conditions found close to tumors, the particles discharge \u0022bomblets\u0022 just 5 nanometers in size.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInside tumor cells, a second chemical step activates the platinum-based cisplatin, which kills by crosslinking and damaging DNA. Doctors have used cisplatin to fight several types of cancer for decades, but toxic side effects \u2013 to the kidneys, nerves and inner ear -- can limit its effectiveness.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe PNAS paper is the result of a collaboration between a team led by professor Jun Wang, Ph.D. at the University of Science and Technology of China, and researchers led by professor Shuming Nie, Ph.D. in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory. Nie is a member of the Discovery and Developmental Therapeutics research program at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University.\u0026nbsp;The lead authors are graduate student Hong-Jun Li and postdoctoral fellows Jinzhi Du, Ph.D. and Xiao-Jiao Du, Ph.D.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The negative side effects of cisplatin are a long-standing limitation for conventional chemotherapy,\u0022 says Jinzhi Du. \u0022In our study, the delivery system was able to improve tumor penetration to reach more cancer cells, as well as release the drugs specifically inside cancer cells through their size-transition property.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers showed that their nanoparticles could enhance cisplatin drug accumulation in tumor tissues. When mice bearing human pancreatic tumors were given the same doses of free cisplatin or cisplatin clothed in pH-sensitive nanoparticles, the level of platinum in tumor tissues was seven times higher with the nanoparticles. This suggests the possibility that nanoparticle delivery of a limited dose of cisplatin could restrain the toxic side effects during cancer treatment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers also showed that the nanoparticles were effective against a cisplatin-resistant lung cancer model and an invasive metastatic breast cancer model in mice. In the lung cancer model, a dose of free cisplatin yielded just 10 percent growth inhibition, while the same dose clothed in nanoparticles yielded 95 percent growth inhibition, the researchers report.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the metastatic breast cancer model, treating mice with cisplatin clothed in nanoparticles prolonged animal survival by weeks; 50 percent of the mice were surviving at 54 days with nanoparticles compared with 37 days for the same dose of free cisplatin.\u0026nbsp;Enhanced efficacy in three different tumor models demonstrate that this strategy may be applicable to several types of cancer, Jinzhi Du says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EQuinn Eastman\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E 404-727-7829\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:qeastma@emory.edu\u0022\u003Eqeastma@emory.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWalter Rich\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E 404-385-2416\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:qeastma@emory.edu\u0022\u003Ewrich@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Nanoparticles deliver the chemotherapy drug cisplatin"}],"field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Nanoparticles deliver the chemotherapy drug cisplatin"}],"uid":"27513","created_gmt":"2016-04-06 10:06:50","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:21:17","author":"Walter Rich","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-04-06T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-04-06T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"522011":{"id":"522011","type":"image","title":"Anti-cancer Cluster Bomb","body":null,"created":"1459972800","gmt_created":"2016-04-06 20:00:00","changed":"1475895291","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:51","alt":"Anti-cancer Cluster Bomb","file":{"fid":"205353","name":"anticancer_cluster_bombs520.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/anticancer_cluster_bombs520_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/anticancer_cluster_bombs520_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":140121,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/anticancer_cluster_bombs520_0.png?itok=6URfd4Jj"}},"522071":{"id":"522071","type":"image","title":"Shuming Nie, Ph.D., Professor, Director for Emory-Georgia Tech Cancer Nanotechnology Center, Wallace H. Coulter Distinguished Faculty Chair in Biomedical Engineering","body":null,"created":"1459972800","gmt_created":"2016-04-06 20:00:00","changed":"1475895291","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:51","alt":"Shuming Nie, Ph.D., Professor, Director for Emory-Georgia Tech Cancer Nanotechnology Center, Wallace H. Coulter Distinguished Faculty Chair in Biomedical Engineering","file":{"fid":"205357","name":"shuming_nie.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/shuming_nie_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/shuming_nie_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1801147,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/shuming_nie_0.jpg?itok=YLgHBnw3"}}},"media_ids":["522011","522071"],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"170080","name":"Anti-cancer Cluster Bomb"},{"id":"1612","name":"BME"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWalter Rich\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-2416\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:qeastma@emory.edu\u0022\u003Ewrich@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["wrich@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}