Magnetic nanochain detonates chemo bomb in tumors

Engineers and scientists at Case Western Reserve University have developed medicine-toting nanochains that slip into tumors and explode a chemotherapy drug into the core of cancer. In tests on rats and mice, the technology killed more cancer cells, inhibited tumor growth better and extended life longer than traditional chemotherapy delivery. The targeted system also used less of the drug doxorubicin than the amount used in traditional chemotherapy, saving healthy tissue from toxic exposure. "Other nanotechnology has been used to get a drug inside a tumor, but once the drug gets in the door, it stays by the door, missing most of the building," said Efstathios Karathanasis, a biomedical engineering professor and leader of the research team. "We used a different kind of nanotechnology to smuggle the drug inside the tumor and to explode the bomb, releasing the drug in its free form to spread throughout the entire tumor."