Cancer Killers

Despite treatments such as surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, only about a quarter of all people with lung cancer live more than five years after diagnosis.

To improve the odds, bioengineering Professor Kytai Nguyen and Jon Weidanz, associate vice president for research and innovation, have pioneered a novel approach to deliver cancer-killing drugs directly into cancer cells.

"Our method uses the patient's own cellular material as a trojan horse to transport a targeted drug payload directly to the lung cancer cells by isolating T-cells from the patient and modifying them to express a specific receptor that targets the cancer cells," explains Dr. Nguyen.

The technique involves isolating the cell membrane from these modified T-cells, loading the membranes with chemotherapy medications, and coating them onto tiny drug delivery granules.

When the nanoparticles are injected back into the patient, the cell membrane directs them to the tumor cells with precision. This approach deceives the patient's immune system, as the coated nanoparticles mimic the properties of immune cells, avoiding detection and clearance by the body. ₪