Several decades back, nanotechnology was just starting. Today, it was able to penetrate many industries at an amazing level. The development seemed rapid. And because it poses minimal risk, an even wide application is expected in the coming years. As of the latest improvements, particularly in medicine, there is the nanobee.
Promising results of nanobee use in tumor treatment brighten the hope of cancer patients following the tests conducted on mice. Dr. Samuel Wickline, director of the Siteman Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, said that for about five years, the treatment would be widely available for humans.
Nanobee, which uses nanotech, is designed to destroy cancer cells by delivering a synthesized version of toxin called mellitin that is also found in bees. Wickline explained that Melittin, which would otherwise result in substantial destruction of red blood cells and other normal tissues if it were delivered intravenously alone, is completely safe when it’s on a nanoparticle.
Nanobees, by contrast, are engineered to travel directly to tumor cells without harming any others. They leave the healthy cells alone because the blood vessels around a tumor are like a “postal address” for the nanobees, Wickline said. These vessels express a particular protein to which a substance on the nanobees has a chemical affinity.
Other researchers, though in doubt whether the treatment will be available soon, do not disagree on the possible success of nanobees. Dr. Ellen Vitetta said it will be at least 10 years before this approach finally gets into the market. She reasoned that what works in mice doesnt always work on humans. Vitetta also works on targeted nanotech cancer therapies, targeted antibody cancer treatment in particular, at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.
By the middle of next year, nanotech technique for prostrate cancer treatment will in the clinical trials said Robert Langer, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor and a leader in the nanotech field. And in about one to two years, clinical trials for nanotech ovarian cancer treatment could take place, said lead author Daniel Anderson at MIT.
Many cancer stricken people surely pray that this research become successful. We can help by showing support as these researchers further the test. In time, the treatment would be performed by people in nursing uniforms with clear view of successfully curing cancer.