New technique uses ATP as trigger for targeted anti-cancer drug delivery

Biomedical engineering researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina have developed a new technique that uses adenosine-5′-triphosphate (the so-called ‘energy molecule’) to trigger the release of anti-cancer drugs directly into cancer cells. The spherical nanoparticles are coated with a shell that incorporates hyaluronic acid, which interacts with proteins found on the surface of some cancer cells. The nanoparticle is filled with DNA molecules that release anti-cancer drug doxorubicin when they come into contact with the adenosine-5′-triphosphate inside a cancer cell. Credit: Ran Mo

Biomedical engineering researchers have developed a new technique that uses adenosine-5′-triphosphate (ATP), the so-called “energy molecule,” to trigger the release of anti-cancer drugs directly into cancer cells. Early laboratory tests show it increases the effectiveness of drugs targeting breast cancer. The technique was developed by researchers at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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