Nanoparticles are known for their ability to be finely engineered; this makes the technology invaluable to tackling diseases in various ways and holds immense potential for cancer research and treatment.
Recently researchers from the Tokyo University of Science demonstrated a low-cost technology that utilizes corn and water as a springboard for a novel "bionanoparticle" that can suppress mice tumor growth.
Plant-Derived Nanoparticle
In recent years, science has developed nanoparticles to fight cancer in various ways, from light-activated nanoparticles that cut off essential proteins in cancer cells to versions that help detect and track tumors ahead of traditional imaging. However, these forms of synthetic particles, which measure roughly one and 100 nanometers, are difficult and expensive to produce. This leads the authors of the new study to investigate other possibilities in the form of plant-derived nanoparticles.
Plant-derived nanoparticles have only recently emerged as non-toxic and cost-effective alternatives with multiple medical applications and drug delivery. Nanoparticles have the potential to target tissues and organs in the body specifically. Exploring the multitudes of possibilities in this area, Tokyo University of Science researchers turned to corn as one of the most commonly raised crops.
Makiya Nishikawa, the co-author of the study and a professor at the university, explains that researchers can control their pharmacokinetics in the human body by controlling the physicochemical properties of plant-derived nanoparticles. Hence, the team explored the nanoparticulation of edible crops. He adds that corn is largely produced worldwide in its native and genetically modified forms. Hence, this is why it was selected for the team's study.
Creating Corn-Based Nanoparticles
The study published in the journal Scientific Reports, titled "Development of nanoparticles derived from corn as mass-producible bionanoparticles with anticancer activity," showed that experiments involved creating mixtures of super sweet corn and water with the produced corn juice centrifuges at high velocities and filtered via syringe. The filtered samples were then ultracentrifuged, which allowed the team of researchers to extract corn-derived nanoparticles at roughly 80 nanometers in diameter.
In testing the novel plant-based nanoparticles, the team found that they were taken up by a wide range of cells, including mice-derived tumor cells and macrophage-like cells known as RAW264.7. Describing the astounding results, the team analyzed their nanoparticles to trigger an immune response and release tumor-killing factors from the macrophage-like cells. They also showed high selectivity for the tumor cells and ultimately inhibited tumor growth.
Then, the corn-derived novel nanoparticles were tested on mice genetically induced with cancer. The team injected the nanoparticles directly into the mice's tumors daily. This again showed significant suppression of tumor growth, causing no serious side effects or weight loss for the subjects of the experiments.
Nishikawa explains that in optimizing the corn-based nanoparticle's properties and combining them with anticancer drugs, the team hopes to devise a novel drug that's safe and efficacious for different types of cancers, reports NewAtlas.
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