November 16, 2012
A team of researchers led by scientists at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy has discover
ed effects of low-frequency magnetic fields that might pave the way for new approaches to designing remote-control nanomedicines.
In a paper published online October 18 in the journal Angewandte Chemie, the researchers describe an experiment in which they attached an enzyme to magnetic nanoparticles, exposed them to nonheating, low-frequency magnetic fields, and observed the resulting changes in the enzymes’ structure, conformation, and catalytic activity, which were different from changes induced by heating up the nanoparticles.
The results demonstrated for the first time magneto-mechanical effects triggered by radio-frequency magnetic fields, says Alexander “Sasha” Kabanov, PhD, the senior author on the paper and the Mescal S. Ferguson Distinguished Professor at the School. The findings, he says, could be used to create nanomedicines that will be remotely activated by low-frequency magnetic fields.
Such nanomedicines could be more efficient than therapies that use heating magnetic fields, says Kabanov, director of the School’s Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery. Heating magnetic fields are currently used in magnetic hyperthermia, an experimental cancer treatment that kills tumors by getting nanoparticles into the tumors and heating the particles with magnetic fields. Achieving sufficient heat requires a high concentration of nanoparticles, which Kabanov says is practically impossible via systemic administration.
“You can solve this problem with intratumoral injections, but you can’t inject all tumors, especially in advanced cancers,” Kabanov says. “A system based on magneto-mechanical effects, on the other hand, doesn’t have that problem, and it can be activated at the right time and the right place, which will reduce the possible systemic side effects of the drug.”
The paper’s lead authors are Natalia L. Klyachko, PhD, an adjunct professor at the School, and Marina Sokolsky-Papkov, PhD, a research assistant professor at the School. Other authors are
- Nikorn Pothayee, PhD, a visiting research fellow at the National Institutes of Health;
- Maria V. Efremova, an undergraduate student at Moscow State University;
- Dmitry A. Guilin, a research associate at Moscow State University;
- Nipon Pothayee, a graduate student in the Macromolecular Science and Engineering Program at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University;
- Artem A. Kuznetsov, an undergraduate student at Moscow State University;
- Alexander G. Majouga, PhD, an associate professor at Moscow State University;
- Judy S. Riffle, PhD, a professor of organic polymer chemistry at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; and
- Yuri I. Golovin, PhD, a professor and director of the Scientific and Educational Center of Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials at Derzhavin Tambov State University and a principal researcher at Moscow State University.
Latest News
Dean Angela Kashuba receives Carolina Alumni Faculty Service Award
RASP poster presentations capture student research
