Smart polymers that shift their shape according to the various conditions around them to form tubular structures that can encapsulate drugs have been developed.
Highlights:
Polymersomes are emerging as a powerful tool in drug delivery and synthetic biology due to their high stability, chemical versatility, and surface modifiability.
Non-spherical nanoparticles to deliver drugs to tumor- Polymersomes are emerging as a powerful tool in drug delivery.
- Polymersomes are a class of artificial vesicles that enclose a solution.
- Polymers shift their shape according to the different conditions around them to form tubular structures that can encapsulate drugs.
A research team at University of New South Wales have developed a way to control the shape of polymer molecules so they self-assemble into non-spherical nanoparticles. This advancement could improve the delivery of toxic drugs to tumors.
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Carcinoid tumors is a benign tumor that results in carcinoid syndrome. Only 8 to 10% of all carcinoid tumors are associated with the carcinoid syndrome.
‘Polymersomes are powerful new tools to deliver drugs to the desired part of the body, due to their high stability, chemical versatility, and the ease with which molecules on their surface can be altered.’
"Very little in nature is perfectly spherical," says study senior author Professor Pall Thordarson of the UNSW School of Chemistry. "Most biological structures like cells, bacteria and viruses come in a variety of shapes including tubes, rods, and squashed spheres, or ellipsoids. But it has proved very difficult for scientists to synthesize particles that are not perfectly round. Our breakthrough means we can predictably make smart polymers that shift their shape according to the different conditions around them to form tiny ellipsoidal or tubular structures that can encapsulate drugs” Professor Pall Thordarson said.
Controlling the shape of the polymersome with water
The scientists worked with polymer molecules that contain a water-soluble portion and a non-water-soluble portion, and which self-assemble into round, hollow structures, known as polymersomes, in solution.
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"It's a straightforward but elegant solution which we feel has great potential for making a wide range of complex polymer structures inspired by nature," says Professor Stenzel.
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About Brain Tumor
Brain tumors are the abnormal growth of brain cells that may be benign or metastatic. Brain tumors account for about 2.4% of all the tumor diagnosesandare most challenging due to their critically delicate location.
Brain tumors are the abnormal growth of brain cells that may be benign or metastatic. Brain tumors account for about 2.4% of all the tumor diagnosesandare most challenging due to their critically delicate location.
References:
- Chin Ken Wong, Alexander F. Mason, Martina H. Stenzel, Pall Thordarson. Formation of Non-Spherical Polymersomes Driven by Hydrophobic Directional Aromatic Perylene Interactions, Nature Communicationsdoi:10.1038/s41467-017-01372-z
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An abnormal growth of cells in the brain is called brain tumor. Most tumors arise within the brain (primary). They can be benign or cancerous.
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