Anti-cancer nanocreme
Modified moisturizer will deal with skin cancer
It is clear that with a diagnosis like melanoma, the ideal therapeutic agent will be one that can be applied directly to the skin: it is easy to use, and it affects only the application area, minimizing possible negative effects. The problem here is in the skin itself. It is such a reliable barrier against toxins that it is a really difficult task to detect substances that could penetrate through it. Therefore, to this day, clinical practice includes the use of lasers or ultrasound, which help deliver drugs deep into the skin.
Amy Paller and her colleagues from Northwestern University (USA) managed to "cut a window" in the skin barrier. To do this, scientists coated spherical gold nanoparticles with a small interfering RNA (siRNA) – a small part of nucleic acid, which is able to penetrate the skin barrier and into skin cells, using a mechanism that has not yet been fully elucidated.
In addition to penetrating talent, a specific form of siRNA was chosen for its ability to block one of the most important cancer genes – the epidermal growth factor receptor, which allows cancer cells to grow rapidly.
Next, the researchers mixed the product with a regular moisturizer and applied it to a mouse. As a result, it was shown that the nanoparticles not only penetrated the skin, but also attacked the intended target-the receptor, without causing any toxic or any other side effects, even in the adjacent areas of the rodent's skin.
The report on the work done is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Zheng et al., Topical delivery of siRNA-based spherical nucleic acid nanoparticle conjugates for gene regulation).
Prepared based on the materials of NewScientist: Moisturiser modified to tackle skin cancer.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru10.07.2012