Nanomedicine fights cancer

Cancer remains one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide. Despite research into targeted therapies, the most common anti-cancer strategies entail surgical resection of the primary tumour followed by chemotherapy or radiotherapy. However, the extensive side-effects of these approaches present a significant limitation to their efficacy.

The main advantage of nanocarriers is that they can selectively target the cancerous cells and release the cytotoxic drug at the tumour site. In addition, they protect the drug from degradation in the body, thereby reducing the dose required for treatment. The EU-funded SMART NANOGELS (Stimuli-responsive theranostic nanogels based on hyperbranched polyglycerol) project set out to synthesise different nanocarriers for applications in cancer therapy. Their activities concentrated on the production of nanogels prepared from biocompatible polymers, engineered to deliver a particular drug after a specific stimulus.

The anticancer drug paclitaxel - used for the treatment of various carcinomas - was attached to nanocarriers and released by the action of some enzymes or by acidic pH. Nanogels responding to a combination of biological stimuli have also been produced that release the cytotoxic drug doxorubicin. These nanogels successfully inhibited proliferation of lung cancer cells.

Additionally, researchers generated polymeric nanogels that can shrink or swell depending on differences in temperature. Temperature acted as an external stimulus to control the structural shape of nanogels and trigger drug release or improve overall targeting.

Overall, the deliverables of the SMART NANOGELS study should advance the current state-of-the-art in nanomedicine. Further research should pave the road for future biological and biomedical applications of these promising polymeric systems.