10/20/13
Provided by Oregon State University, Oct. 17, 2013
Summary: Until recently there had been little hope for those diagnosed with ovarian cancer, which is one the leading causes of cancer-related deaths in women. However, discoveries about the effectiveness of combining chemotherapeutic drugs with heat to kill cancer cells has brought new hope to victims. The delivery system of this new treatment is based on nanotechnology. It can kill ninety-five percent of ovarian cancer cells using iron-oxide nanoparticles coated in chemotherapeutic drugs which can be heated once they’ve been imbedded in the cancerous cells. Specific peptides are used to make sure the nanoparticles get directly to the cancer cells, rather than nearby healthy cells. Polyethylene glycol coating is used to keep the nanoparticles from clumping up and becoming useless. Due the acidic environment of the cancer cells, the chemotherapeutic drug is released from the nanoparticles. The magnetic nanoparticles are exposed to an oscillating magnetic field which heats them up, the heat improves the function of the chemotherapeutic drug. Treatment using nanoparticles reduces side effects for cancer victims as well, another pro for this exciting new form of treatment.
Relevance: In chapter 9.4 of the text book we read about the disease cancer. Cancer cells are cells in which an error has occurred in the cell cycle, they will divide uncontrollably. When cancer cells divide they push normal tissue out of the way, which can be problematic depending on the location of the grouping of cancerous cells (malignant tumor). We also read that sometimes cancer metastasises, meaning it spreads to different locations in the body via a vein or artery. The current treatments for cancer are radiation therapy and chemotherapy, both of which has terrible side effects. Radiation therapy is when the area of the body containing cancerous cell is exposed to low doses of radiation. Chemotherapy is an oral or intravenous drug that a patient takes which kills cancerous cells. This relates to the article I’ve chosen since the article is about cancer treatment and to understand the article you need a basic idea of what cancer is.
How exactly does heat improve the function of the chemotherapeutic drug?
ReplyDeleteEmily,
ReplyDeleteWhen you heat a substances its particles move more rapidly and collide more frequently and bonds between the particles are broken and new ones are more easily made with particles from other substances. Because of this the rate of the reaction is much faster, which is the effect that the heat has on the chemotherapeutic drug.