(September 27, 2010) -- Rice University physicist Dmitri Lapotko has demonstrated that plasmonic nanobubbles, generated around gold nanoparticles with a laser pulse, can detect and destroy cancer cells in vivo by creating tiny, shiny vapor bubbles that reveal the cells and selectively explode them. The nanobubbles have been tested in theranostics with live human prostate cancer cells, without harming the animal host.
A paper in the October print edition of the journal Biomaterials details the effect of plasmonic nanobubble theranostics on zebra fish implanted with live human prostate cancer cells, demonstrating the guided ablation of cancer cells in a living organism without damaging the host. This is not the first time Rice University has used nanotechnology to advance cancer detection and destruction.
Lapotko and his colleagues developed the concept of cell theranostics to unite three important treatment stages -- diagnosis, therapy and confirmation of the therapeutic action -- into one connected procedure. The unique tunability of plasmonic nanobubbles makes the procedure possible. Their animal model, the zebra fish, is nearly transparent, suiting in-vivo research.
The key elements of plasmonic nanobubble research:
- Plasmonic nanobubbles: laser pulse and plasmonic nanoparticle-generated transient event with tunable optical and mechanical properties.
- Physical and optical properties of plasmon nanoparticles at high temperatures and in multi-phase environment.
- Methods for imaging and characterization of plasmon nanoparticles.
- Heat transfer at nano-scale.
- Interaction of plasmonic nanobubbles with living cells and tissue.
- Zebrafish: optically transparent organism as a model for plasmonic nanomedicine
The key elements of cell theranostics:
- Cell theranostics: dynamically tuned intracellular plasmonic nanobubbles combine diagnosis (through optical scattering), therapy (through mechanical, nonthermal and selective damage of target cells) and optical guidance of the therapy into one fast process.
- High-sensitive imaging and diagnosis of cells with plasmonic nanobubbles that may provide up to 102-3-fold increase in sensitivity compared to gold nanoparticles and 105-6 fold increase in sensitivity compared to fluorescent molecules.
- Targeted therapy with plasmonic nanobubbles: LANTCET (laser activated nano-thermolysis as cell elimination technology). Applicastions: treatment of leukemia and of superficial tumors.
- Controlled release and intracellular delivery of therapeutic and diagnostic agent into the cells.
- Methods for imaging plasmonic nanoparticles in living cells and in tissue.
- Micro-surgery with plasmonic nanobubbles: recanalization of occluded coronary arteries.
The National Institutes of Health has recognized the potential of Lapotko's technique by funding further research that holds tremendous potential for the theranostics of cancer and other diseases at the cellular level. Lapotko's Plasmonic Nanobubble Lab, a joint American-Belarussian laboratory for fundamental and biomedical nanophotonics, has received a grant worth more than $1 million over the next four years to continue developing the technique.
In earlier research in Lapotko's lab in the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, plasmonic nanobubbles demonstrated their theranostic potential. In another study on cardiovascular applications, nanobubbles were filmed blasting their way through arterial plaque. The stronger the laser pulse, the more damaging the explosion when the bubbles burst, making the technique highly tunable. The bubbles range in size from 50nm to more than 10um.
In the zebra-fish study, Lapotko and his collaborators at Rice directed antibody-tagged gold nanoparticles into the implanted cancer cells. A short laser pulse overheated the surface of the nanoparticles and evaporated a very thin volume of the surrounding medium to create small vapor bubbles that expanded and collapsed within nanoseconds; this left cells undamaged but generated a strong optical scattering signal that was bright enough to detect a single cancer cell.
A second, stronger pulse generated larger nanobubbles that exploded (mechanically ablated) the target cell without damaging surrounding tissue in the zebra fish. Scattering of the laser light by the second “killer” bubble confirmed the cellular destruction. That the process is mechanical in nature is key, Lapotko said. The nanobubbles avoid the pitfalls of chemo- or radiative therapy that can damage healthy tissue as well as tumors. "It's not a particle that kills the cancer cell, but a transient and short event," he said. "We're converting light energy into mechanical energy."
The new grant will allow Lapotko and his collaborators to study the biological effects of plasmonic nanobubbles and then combine their functions into a single sequence that would take a mere microsecond to detect and destroy a cancer cell and confirm the results. "By tuning their size dynamically, we will tune their biological action from noninvasive sensing to localized intracellular drug delivery to selective elimination of specific cells," he said.
"Being a stealth, on-demand probe with tunable function, the plasmonic nanobubble can be applied to all areas of medicine, since the nanobubble mechanism is universal and can be employed for detecting and manipulating specific molecules, or for precise microsurgery."
Lapotko's co-authors on the Biomaterials paper are Daniel Wagner, assistant professor of biochemistry and cell biology; Mary “Cindy” Farach-Carson, associate vice provost for research and professor of biochemistry and cell biology; Jason Hafner, associate professor of physics and astronomy and of chemistry; Nikki Delk, postdoctoral research associate; and Ekaterina Lukianova-Hleb, researcher in the Plasmonic Nanobubble Lab.
COMMENTARY: Nanotechnology was the rave about ten years ago, and a lot of VC's got into it, but a lot of that nanotech research went for not, and none of those startups ever turned into the next GenenTech. In fact, nanotech remains most in the laboratory, with little monetization. The claims that nanotechnology would lead to nano medicines or "nano robots" that would be used to repair tissues and kill bacteria and viruses sounded like so much science fiction. Rice University's in vivo research with plasmonic nanobubbles could make be the turning point.
When I read about this Rice University research into plasmonic nanobubbles that can attach themselves to cancer sells and kill them, it reminded me me of those mechanical tentacled drones in the Matrix movies that attached themselves to the hull of Morpheus' ship the Nebuchadnezzar, I just had to look into it further.
Current cancer treatment is highly invasive and uses hyperthermia (using high temperatures to destroy cancerous cells, also called thermotherapy), radiation or chemotherapy to destroy cancerous tissues resulting in painful and uncomfortable after-effects. Plasmonic nanobubbles kills cancer cells in a three step process called cell theranostics that combines three important treatment stages -- diagnosis, therapy and confirmation simultaneously. Present day cancer treatment involves various tests including a biopsy to determine if a patient has cancer. Cell theranostics using plasmonic nanobubbles can greatly reduce treatment times in one step.
I would use the analogy of a multiple head heat seeking guided missile that "locks in" on multiple targets simultaneously, in this case the cancerous cells, and uses plasmonic nanobubbles (the warheads) to destroy the cancer infected cells.
Plasmonic nanobubbles is still very early in the research and development stage, and more in vivo tests need to be completed, including tests on human beings, then cell theranostics using plasmonic nanobubbles needs to be approved by the FDA, before becoming an approved method for the treatment of cancer.
Courtesy of an article dated September 27, 2010 appearing in ElectroIQ
Nice post there is. Very informative & develops a new hope.
Posted by: Nanoparticles | 01/11/2012 at 01:59 AM
ALSO DISCUSS NANOROBOTE
Posted by: RAMESH | 02/17/2011 at 05:30 AM
Applicastions: treatment of leukemia and of superficial tumors.
Posted by: Green Laser Pointers | 01/28/2011 at 10:54 PM