Polymer-Based Anti-Cancer Capsule without Side Effects Produced in Iran

Hossein Peyman, a member of the academic faculty of Islamic Azad University’s Ilam branch, who has a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry, explained about the polymeric anti-cancer capsules.

“In this project, the goal of the research group was to make a polymeric capsule that can carry special drugs, specially anti-cancer medicine, and release them merely in the cancerous tissue,” he told ANA.

“By using this method, the anti-cancer drugs will not have a harmful and destructive effect on other tissues of the body, and their effect on the cancerous tissue will be doubled,” Peyman said.

“Of course, the research group used a super magnetic nanoparticle in the structure of the polymer carrier in a bid to increase the therapeutic effect and track the drug carrier, and in addition to the drug that is loaded inside the smart polymer capsule, it used the heat generation feature of the super magnetic nano particle in the magnetic field to make the continuous imaging of the drug possible,” he added.

Peyman explained that the research led to the synthesis and production of a smart polymeric nanocarrier which could destroy cancer cells in the studied culture medium during cell experiments.

A drug carrier is a substrate used in the process of drug delivery which serves to improve the selectivity, effectiveness, and/or safety of drug administration. Drug carriers are primarily used to control the release of drugs into systemic circulation. This can be accomplished either by slow release of a particular drug over a long period of time (typically diffusion) or by triggered release at the drug's target by some stimulus, such as changes in pH, application of heat, and activation by light.

A large variety of materials, specially nanostructures, are used as drug carriers. Graphene is one of the materials that can be used to this end.

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