Nanopackaging biodegrades after delivering cancer drug
DNA binding creates potentially nontoxic tumor-targeting structures
By Beth Mole
Eat your heart out Amazon. Packaging made of DNA-strapped nanoparticles could deliver cancer drugs directly to a tumor’s doorstep, then quickly break down and see itself to the curb.
Researchers have used nanoparticle-based parcels to carry drugs to tumors before. But the new shipping system, which was tested in mice, is the first to specify an exit strategy for the nanoparticles, which are often made of toxic metals that can accumulate in healthy tissues. The results appear January 26 in Nature Nanotechnology.