How a manmade crystal could be used to treat cancer
A new synthetic crystal that attaches to the skin and deposits "supercharged" medicine antibodies could help treat diseases with increased precision and accuracy.
Researchers at the Australian Centre for Blood Diseases at Monash University in collaboration with the TU Graz in Austria claim to have developed the world's first metal-organic framework (MOF) for antibody distribution to enable faster treatment of cancers, cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases.
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Traditionally made from a mix of organic and inorganic materials: in this case, zinc and carbonate ions and a tiny imidazole molecule, MOFs often take on crystalline shapes.
Designed to be porous, they are traditionally used to store gases, but the researchers hope the same methods can be used to store and deploy medicine.
Published in the Advanced Minerals journal, the study suggests that when MOF antibody crystals bind to their target cancer cells and if exposed to the low pH in the cells, they break down, delivering the drugs directly and solely to the desired area, which could help push MOF use within the healthcare sector - something which has only been speculated at before.
The team hopes this could allow for more specialised treatment with more customised drugs and more specific doses.
"While new funding is needed to take the research into the next phase and to patients, the new method is cheaper, faster and more versatile than anything available currently", said Professor Christoph Hagemeyer, Head of the Nanobiotechnology Laboratory at the Australian Centre for Blood Diseases, Monash University and the co-author of the study.
“It offers the opportunity to personalise treatment and given the precision possible, may eventually change the current dosage needed for patients, resulting in fewer side effects and making treatments cheaper", he added.
MOFs often offer more structural diversity when compared to other porous materials, with the main key point being uniformity in its pores, while also allowing for consistent designs down to the atomic level. This is important during scientific testing to allow for easy replication of results.
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The report's other co-author, Dr Karen Alt suggests that, given time, the treatment could be more effective than chemotherapy owing to the MOF's increased precision.
“With over 80 different monoclonal antibodies approved for clinical use, this approach has enormous potential to improve these antibodies for the targeted delivery of diagnostic agents and therapeutic drugs. The goal is that ultimately the clinical translation of this technology will improve the quality of life for patients suffering from serious diseases", she added.
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