Published in MPW, 17 Jul 2014
Nanoscopic explosions triggered by a laser can enhance the effectiveness of traditional cancer therapies by 10 to 100 times, according to scientists in the US who are pioneering the technique. “Quadrapeutics” appears to kill cancer cells while leaving healthy cells intact, and could prove especially good at targeting drug-resistant tumours and those in children (Nature Medicine 20 778).
Developed by biochemist Dmitri Lapotko at Rice University in Houston, TX, and colleagues, quadrapeutics is so called because it relies on the administration of four different components: chemotherapy drugs, gold nanoparticles, a laser pulse and X-ray radiation. At its heart, however, is the idea that tiny mechanical explosions – which the researchers call nanobubbles – amplify the effect of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but only in cancerous cells. […]
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