A team of Virginia Tech researchers associated with the Macromolecules Innovation Institute has recently created a drug administration system that could greatly expand options for cancer treatments. The new system is referred to as Nanoscale Bacteria-Enabled Autonomous Drug Delivery System (NanoBEADS). In this process, the researchers chemically attach nanoparticles of cancer therapeutic drugs to attenuated bacteria cells in a process shown to be more effective than passive delivery of injections into cancerous regions.
The alternative treatment method of injecting nanoparticles into the bloodstream has resulted in low efficacy. With the human body being as complex as it is, very few of these nanoparticles end up reaching the site of cancer, and express limited delivery across the malignant tissue upon arrival.
NanoBEADS has yielded successful results both in vitro and in vivo (mouse) models, showing improvements up to 100-fold in the retention and distribution of the nanoparticles in cancers. This innovative system is the product of renowned researcher Bahareh Behkam, an associate professor of engineering. Her collaborators include chemical engineering professor Rick Davis, and Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine biology professor Coy Allen. The research team’s detailed and comprehensive work was recently published in Advance Science.
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“You can make the most amazing drugs, but if you cannot deliver it where it needs to go, it cannot be very effective,” said Behkam. “By improving the delivery, you can enhance efficacy.”
It has long been noted that cancer patients seemingly go into remission when they contract an infection such as salmonella. Those who have had food poisoning know that salmonella can be very harmful to humans, however, a weakened version of the infection could theoretically provide immunotherapy benefits without harming the patient. The concept behind this is similar to receiving an attenuated flu virus in a vaccine to build immunity.
Roughly six years ago, Behkam conceived the idea of using augmented bacterial therapy to target cancers with conventional therapeutic drugs. The main issue was that passive delivery of anti-cancer treatments did not work at high rates.
With her strong background in bio-hybrid microrobotics, Behkam wanted to use the salmonella bacteria as a vehicle to transport nanoparticles of medication directly to the cancer site. The plan was put into action when one of Behkam’s doctoral students created the first generation of NanoBEADS by assembling polystyrene nanoparticles onto E. coli bacteria. After analyzing various aspects of the NanoBEADS system for several years, Behkam brought Davis into the effort for his experience with manufacturing polymer nanoparticles for drug administration.
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“She mentioned this radically different approach for delivering drugs and nanoparticles,” said Davis. “I walked away from the conversation thinking, ‘Man, if this thing could work, it would be fantastic.’”
Fast forward through several years of development, and alongside a former and current doctoral student of hers, Behkam had finally conducted trials with NanoBEADS using lab-grown tumors. The team saw up to 80-fold improvements in nanoparticle penetration and distribution using this new system when comparing to passively diffusing nanoparticles.
These tests were then extended to in vivo tests in mice, also yielding significant improvements using NanoBEADS compared to passive delivery. The tests revealed that there were roughly 1,000 times more salmonella cells in the tumor versus the liver, and 10,000 times more than the spleen. This shows the system’s efficacy in targeting the tumor as opposed to other parts of the body.
“Most notably, the salmonella itself helped keep the particles in the tumor up to 100-fold better, which would suggest it would be an effective delivery vehicle,” Allen said.
https://t.co/uL9snXRp2j Scientists used weakened salmonella bacteria as autonomous vehicles to transport anti-cancer medicine, in nanoparticle form, directly to cancer sites. In vitro and in vivo (in living mice) models showed up to 100-fold improvements in distribution and ret… pic.twitter.com/07NKPa9ynk
— Science news (@UpdateonScience) December 21, 2018
Source: ScienceDaily
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