New radiation therapy for cancer using monochromatic X-rays and nanoparticles

Abstract

There are longstanding research efforts to improve treatments for cancers. Two treatment options are chemotherapy and radiation therapy but there is room for improvement and researchers at the Institute for Advanced Study, Kyoto University, Japan, have developed a new method that could lead to the development of a new type of cancer radiation therapy and save lives. The research team is led by Professor Fuyuhiko Tamanoi who is principal investigator at the Tamanoi Laboratory at Kyoto University and leader of the Quantum Nano Medicine Research Center. The method involves generating a cloud of electrons inside a cancer cell that causes DNA breaks, which has potential to eliminate cancer cells. This approach is built on the Auger effect which postulates that when high Z elements are irradiated with monochromatic X-rays, the energy from the X-rays are absorbed by the K-shell electron, which leads to the release of multiple electrons, which have the capability to produce DNA double strand breaks. To achieve the necessary conditions, the team used nanoparticle design combined with state-of-the-art X-ray technology. The team is also developing a new type of nanoparticle called Biodegradable periodic mesoporous organosilica (BPMO), which is a type of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN).