Spring Break
Scientists work on chemo alternative
Andrew Bowles
Issue date: 10/2/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Two Marshall professors are using synthetic polymers that can be used to treat cancer without the side effects of chemotherapy.
Bill Price, associate professor of chemistry, said dendrimers could be used for site-specific drug delivery vessels.
A dendrimer is a synthetically-produced polymer in which atoms are arranged in many branches and radiate from a central core that contains several empty cavities, which are used as vessels for the drugs that are meant to treat illnesses such as cancer.
"This technology is very useful to patients as an alternative to chemotherapy," Price said. "Cancer drugs are poison to every cell in our bodies, and it is highly stressful for the whole system and dendrimers deliver the medicine only where we need it."
Price said the surface of the cancer cells have receptors for folic acid, so nanotechnologists attach folic acid to the dendrimer so only the cancer cells will grab the molecule as it passes by.
Because of the site-specific drug delivery system, the patient will be able to receive a smaller dosage of the drug, and it will not affect the body as harshly as a daily regiment of chemotherapy.
Dendrimers have a wide applicability and were the first building blocks of nanotechnology.
However, the only problem is the rate of dendrimer production far exceeds the ability to analyze them, so researchers do not know their full potential, such as size, functionability and potential availability, Price said
Dendrimers are created using two processes - divergent synthesis and convergent synthesis.
Divergent synthesis is where scientists create or build the dendrimer from the inside and build out.
Convergent synthesis means the polymer is created from the outside and built in, Price said.
"Eventually scientists and researchers hope to use dendrimers and other nanotechnology as a second immune system," he said. "They would float through your system just looking for trouble."
Dendrimers are mostly made of molecules such as nitrogen, carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, proteins and nucleic acids.
Blair Yoke, senior political science major from Clarksburg, W.Va., said this kind of research could change medicine forever.
"This research will hopefully be able to one day get rid of debilitating diseases like cancer and heart disease," Yoke said. "Cancer runs in my family and it is comforting to know that someone out there is working toward a cure."
Andrew Bowles can be contacted at bowles23@marshall.edu
Bill Price, associate professor of chemistry, said dendrimers could be used for site-specific drug delivery vessels.
A dendrimer is a synthetically-produced polymer in which atoms are arranged in many branches and radiate from a central core that contains several empty cavities, which are used as vessels for the drugs that are meant to treat illnesses such as cancer.
"This technology is very useful to patients as an alternative to chemotherapy," Price said. "Cancer drugs are poison to every cell in our bodies, and it is highly stressful for the whole system and dendrimers deliver the medicine only where we need it."
Price said the surface of the cancer cells have receptors for folic acid, so nanotechnologists attach folic acid to the dendrimer so only the cancer cells will grab the molecule as it passes by.
Because of the site-specific drug delivery system, the patient will be able to receive a smaller dosage of the drug, and it will not affect the body as harshly as a daily regiment of chemotherapy.
Dendrimers have a wide applicability and were the first building blocks of nanotechnology.
However, the only problem is the rate of dendrimer production far exceeds the ability to analyze them, so researchers do not know their full potential, such as size, functionability and potential availability, Price said
Dendrimers are created using two processes - divergent synthesis and convergent synthesis.
Divergent synthesis is where scientists create or build the dendrimer from the inside and build out.
Convergent synthesis means the polymer is created from the outside and built in, Price said.
"Eventually scientists and researchers hope to use dendrimers and other nanotechnology as a second immune system," he said. "They would float through your system just looking for trouble."
Dendrimers are mostly made of molecules such as nitrogen, carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, proteins and nucleic acids.
Blair Yoke, senior political science major from Clarksburg, W.Va., said this kind of research could change medicine forever.
"This research will hopefully be able to one day get rid of debilitating diseases like cancer and heart disease," Yoke said. "Cancer runs in my family and it is comforting to know that someone out there is working toward a cure."
Andrew Bowles can be contacted at bowles23@marshall.edu
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