Nanoparticles Deliver Effective Nontoxic Version of Cancer Drug

Scientists recently created a nanoparticle formulation of a cancer drug that is both effective and nontoxic.

This nanoparticle was designed to directly hit tumors with a toxic cancerous drug without harming healthy tissue.

Prior studies that used rodents with human tumors have helped propel current clinical trials that are evaluating an encapsulated nanoparticle version of the drug. Aurora kinase inhibitors are molecularly targeted agents that cause a disruption to the cycle of the cancerous cell.

Although these inhibitors are effective on patients, they are highly toxic. This has caused a halt in late stage trials.

There were other targeted drugs being developed but were abandoned due to toxicity.

Researchers at the American Associate for the Advancement of Science designed Accurins — polymeric nanoparticles – to deliver an Aurora kinase B inhibitor, which is currently being used in clinical trials.

The accurin nanoparticle formulation was able to encapsulate and control when the drug is released by using ion pairing.

Rodents with colorectal tumors and diffuse large B cell lymphoma experienced a buildup of nanoparticles in the tumors, which then slowly released the drug to cancerous cells.

This encapsulated inhibitor was able to effectively block tumor growth and cause fewer side effects on the rodents at one-half the drug dose compared to the free drug.