Nanoparticles target diverse types of cancer cells following activation with red light

摘要

Scientists at the University of Munich (Munich, Germany) have developed a nanoparticle system for the targeted delivery of a range of drug cargoes to various types of cancer cells. The group, jointly led by Christoph Brauchle and Thomas Bein, professors at the university, utilized colloidal mesoporous silica nanoparticles, which can be safely biodegraded and offer large pores, ideal for the storage of a large volume of cargo. A red-light photosensi-tizer was attached to the particle surface and targeting ligands specific to certain cancer cell types were inserted into the lipid bilayer.