Nanoparticles Enhance RNA Interference

Nanoparticles that deliver short strands of RNA offer a way to treat cancer and other diseases by shutting off malfunctioning genes. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have discovered that once nanoparticles enter cells they become trapped in bubbles known as endosomes, where their contents either get recycled back out of the cell or degraded. The research was published in the journal Nature. In addition, investigators from the Carolina Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have shown that one nanoparticle can be used to deliver both siRNA and traditional chemotherapy agents as a potential treatment for non-small-cell lung cancer. This research team described its work in the journal Molecular Therapy.
Source: NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer - Category: Nanotechnology Source Type: news