In this blog post, we will look at the possibilities and future prospects of nanotechnology, which overcomes the limitations of existing cancer treatments and acts precisely on cancer cells.
Despite being the most common disease today, cancer is probably the most difficult to treat. With the advancement of modern medical technology, cancer treatments are improving day by day, and various anticancer drugs and treatments are being developed. However, current anticancer treatment technologies affect not only cancer cells but also normal cells, causing various side effects. In addition, there are many different types of cancer, and cancer cells vary in characteristics from patient to patient, but the types of anticancer drugs available are limited. For this reason, anticancer treatment is not very effective. Furthermore, anticancer drugs and treatments are unable to keep up with the rapid metastasis of cancer cells.
In fact, the causes and progression of cancer are extremely complex and diverse. Various factors, such as genetic factors, environmental factors, and lifestyle habits, combine to cause cancer. Due to this complexity, cancer treatment is not simple, which is why personalised treatment is important. With current medical technology, it is difficult to take all of these factors into consideration, but future technological advances offer the possibility of overcoming these limitations.
We will introduce technologies that can solve these problems. These are cancer treatment technologies using nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is a technology that creates and manipulates materials at the nanometre (one billionth of a metre) scale. Since molecules and atoms, the most basic units of matter, are nanometre in size, nanotechnology enables more detailed and accurate medical technology.
After obtaining information on the proteins found in the cancer cells of cancer patients, factors that can bind to those proteins are attached to nanoparticles, which are then injected into the patient. These nanoparticles react only with the cancer cells and do not affect normal cells. By attaching anticancer drugs to these nanoparticles that can react with cancer cells, the nanoparticles can find and eliminate cancer cells, and by attaching inhibitors that prevent the replication of cancer cells, it will be possible to prevent the metastasis of cancer cells. On the other hand, since treatment is based on obtaining protein information from the cancer cells of each patient, it is also possible to provide customised anticancer treatment according to the individual characteristics of the patient and the type of cancer they have.
Another characteristic of nanoparticles is that they can have different colours depending on their size. When cells are stained with these particles, unlike when they are stained with ordinary dyes, there are no changes in colour over time or depending on the environment. This property can be used to selectively stain cancer cells, making it easier to distinguish them from other cells and greatly assisting in cancer cell removal surgery.
The use of nanoparticles in cancer treatment also has economic benefits. This is because the nanoparticles can be recovered after treatment. By attaching a north pole to the nanoparticles used for treatment, the nanoparticles remaining in the blood vessels after treatment can be recovered using an opposite stimulus (south pole). Therefore, unlike existing anticancer drugs that can only be used once, regardless of whether they are effective or not, nanoparticles can be reused multiple times, making them more economically efficient.
Of course, there are difficulties in handling nanoparticles. First, there are still limitations in the technology for mass-producing nanoparticles of uniform size. Although this technology has been developed in the laboratory of Professor Hyun Taek-Hwan at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Seoul National University, it is still only possible with certain metals. In addition, there is a lack of technology to control the nanoparticles that are produced. In order to treat cancer using nanoparticles, it is necessary to attach various particles to the nanoparticles, but this requires nanometre-level control technology, which presents many challenges. Furthermore, nanoparticles are mainly made from inorganic materials (metals), and the properties of these nanoparticles are not yet fully understood, so it is unclear what risks they may pose. However, research is actively underway to create non-toxic nanoparticles, and technologies for applying nanoparticles to various fields are being developed. Accordingly, technologies for controlling nanoparticles are also advancing. Therefore, the prospects for cancer treatment using nanoparticles are bright.
Cancer treatment using nanoparticles is attracting attention because it not only overcomes the shortcomings of existing treatments but is also more effective in many ways. If nanotechnology can be used to attach anticancer drugs to maximise the therapeutic effect, completely conquering cancer may not be just a dream of the future. Furthermore, this technology has many potential applications in the treatment of various intractable and incurable diseases. With the development of nanotechnology, we will be one step closer to a long and healthy life.
