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Biomaterial Makes Cancer Cells 10 Times More Sensitive
Breathing new life into off-the-shelf cancer drugs
Article via LabRoots
Tumors have a sneaky strategy of becoming resistant to chemotherapy drugs — they have a way of “pumping” them out, so the cytotoxic chemicals don’t have a chance to destroy the malignant cells within. Even some of the most potent chemotherapies that can penetrate the membranes of cancer cells can, over time, lose their edge, with the tumor again regaining control.
Oncologists sometimes turn to more aggressive strategies in a bid to combat cancer, administering patients with a cocktail of chemo drugs in the hopes that this will slow or possibly even bypass the development of tumor drug resistance. However, even combinations of powerful cancer-killing therapies are no match against some exceptionally resilient tumors.
Another alternative is the use of antibiotics to kill cancer, as these compounds have the ability to target actively dividing cells specifically. Sadly, however, tumors can become resistant to the effects of antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin too.
Biomedical engineers have been exploring new strategies to overcome drug resistance with the help of special polymers. Some early studies showed that chemically engineering ammonia molecules onto a scaffold of polycarbonate…
