Nanomaterials Play a New Support Role in Cancer Treatment

Unique materials provide enhanced immune response with greater efficiency

When fighting cancer, technology has been a major player in improving treatment. Whether in diagnostics or medicine, having the best resources is of utmost importance. As new technologies are developed, it allows for new treatment options, but where do nanomaterials fit into the equation?

Nanomaterials come with a lot of questions when it comes to health and safety. Many of the long-term effects of new materials on the body remain unknown, but that hasn’t stopped work on novel drug delivery and site-specific treatment enabled by nanomaterials. The work is valuable, but there needs to be cautious implementation of advanced materials in biological applications. On the other hand, a Yale research group has found a way to use nanomaterials to help reinforce a patient’s own immune system externally.

According to a Yale News article, scientists there have developed a polymer-carbon nanotube composite, “…that rapidly grows and enhances a patient’s immune cells outside the body…” The carbon nanotubes are chemically bound to polymer nanoparticles which hold Interleukin-2 (IL-2). The carbon nanotubes are also functionalized with molecules which indicate to the immune cells which other cells should be attacked. Sort of like training the T cells to recognize the enemy before they come in contact.

This method could be used to support a patient’s immune response by bolstering their cell counts and increasing effectiveness. The composite material is used to grow a type of white blood cell, known as cytotoxic T cells. These cells quickly proliferate after being removed from the patient and placed on the nanostructured template material. Through a combination of chemical enhancement and surface topography, the newly created and trained cells can then be injected back into the patient, ready for immediate action.

Initial results are promising. Cell cultures expanded by 200 times during the 2 week growth time, and 1000 times less IL-2 is required than with conventional cell cultures. Conventional methods involve exposing the patient’s immune cells to other cells in order to generate antigen-specific T cells. That process is much more complicated, costly and risks adverse reaction to foreign cells.

In the new method, before cells are placed into the patient, the carbon nanotube-polymer composite material is separated out using a magnet. Assuming the material is fully separated out, the risk of direct adverse material reaction is eliminated. In this case, the nanomaterial is enhancing a natural mechanism rather than replacing or directly impacting a natural system or process. This gives us a picture of better treatment through novel materials and novel processes.

 

Image courtesy of Yale News