Design Improvements in Nanodevices Means More Precise Treatment Targeting

Changing the size and surface charge of nanodevices significantly alters the way the nanodevices are taken up by organs and tissues in the body. This should allow for better targeting of treatments, according to scientists from the laboratory of Mohamed Khan, MD, PhD, and Lajos Balogh, PhD, Co-Directors of the NanoBiotechnology Center at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI).

Their research will be presented at the 97th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, April 1-5, in the Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC.*

Nanocomposites represent a class of nanodevices that have several potential medical uses, most notably cancer imaging and therapy. This study is the first detailed quantitative analysis of the significant effects that the manipulation of the size and surface charge of nanodevices have on their biodistribution in a mouse melanoma tumor model system. These results are of great significance in the design of all nanodevices, targeted and non-targeted, being considered for cancer imaging and therapy.

Founded in 1907, the American Association for Cancer Research is the world’s oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. Members include more than 24,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers, health care professionals, and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and in more than 60 other countries.