Spanish scientists have
created a nano robot that can eliminate up to 90 percent of bladder cancer
tumors upon entering the bloodstream.
The robot, created by scientists
from the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia and CIC Biomagon in
partnership with the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) and
the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), has a diameter of 450 nanometers.
And to see it, its image has to be magnified two million times.
Bladder cancer is the most common
type of cancer affecting men. Although the mortality rate is low, all tumors
recur within five years.
In a study on mice, researchers
found that a single use of these tiny robots could eliminate the need for
multiple treatments for tumors.
Current treatments for bladder
cancer include surgery and chemotherapy, which can cost upwards of $65,000. The
reason for this is that the patient has to be examined several times in the
hospital to reduce the spread of the tumor. However, new research claims that
nano-robots can achieve this feat in one go.
The surface of the robots used in
the study was coated with gold nano particles, which allowed the researchers to
see how the robots traveled through the blood and attacked tumors.
In the research, the team released
these nano-robots into the blood of mice with bladder cancer and watched them
spread throughout the body. The urease enzyme in the robot reacts with the urea
in the urine to move the robot and the radioactive iodine destroys the
cancerous tumor.
The team found that the nanobots
raised the pH balance of the area near the tumor, breaking down its extracellular
matrix.
