From Kurzweil.net:
Researchers from Polytechnique Montréal, Université de Montréal, and McGill University have designed a new cancer-drug-delivery nanotransporter system using more than 100 million flagellated, self-propelled bacteria that are capable of navigating through the bloodstream to administer a drug to tumors with precision.* The goal of the research is to avoid jeopardizing the integrity of organs and surrounding healthy tissues while reducing drug dosage.
In an experiment with mice reported in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, the researchers confirmed that “the drug’s propelling force was enough to travel efficiently and enter deep inside the tumors,” autonomously detecting the oxygen-depleted tumor areas and delivering the drug to them, said Professor Sylvain Martel, holder of the Canada Research Chair in Medical Nanorobotics and Director of the Polytechnique Montréal Nanorobotics Laboratory, who heads the research team’s work.
Note: Professor Sylvain Martel contributed an excellent chapter “Nanorobotics for Targeted Medical Interventions” to Frank Boehm’s book, in which he describes some of his early work in this area.
Frank Boehm of NanoApps Medical extends huge congratulations to Sylvain for his amazing work!
Image Credit: Montréal Nanorobotics Laboratory
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