Nanoparticles Kill Brain Tumors in Preclinical Trial

In a preclinical study conducted by the French Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (Paris), nanoparticles have been shown to selectively target and destroy brain cancer. According to Nanobiotix (Paris), which funded the study together with Cancéropôle Lyon Auvergne Rhône-Alpes (Lyon, France), the trial validates the applicability of Nanobiotix's nanoPDT nanoparticles for treating glioblastoma multiforme, a prevalent and difficult-to-treat type of brain tumor.“Our nanotechnology is designed to allow for the precise destruction of cancer cells via the controlled application of an outside-the-body energy source—in this case, a laser beam" remarks Laurent Lévy, president and CEO of Nanobiotix and copresident of the French Technology Platform on Nanotechnology. Although the company has much work to do before it can market the technology, Lévy notes that this proof-of-concept study demonstrates the therapeutic effect of nanoparticles on glioblastoma and opens the possibility of a new treatment for this form of cancer.“The nanoPDT particles allow for the controlled generation of physical reactions in targeted cells when triggered by the application of an external energy source, states Paras N. Prasad, an inventor of the Nanobiotix technology and executive director of the Institute for Lasers, Photonics, and Biophotonics at the State University of New York (Buffalo). "This may have significant ramifications for cancer therapy in the not-too-distant future,” he adds.