ABOVE: In mouse models, an injectable hydrogel attracts a dye-labeled molecule (colored areas) to a specific location, demonstrating its utility as homing beacon for cancer drugs.
ADAPTED FROM ACS CENTRAL SCIENCE 2019, DOI:10.1021/ACSCENTSCI.9B00195
By injecting a hydrogel near tumors, scientists helped chemotherapy drugs hit their targets in mouse models. The hydrogel, laden with the molecule cucurbituril, captures the medicines in a cavity at each molecule’s center, researchers reported June 12 in ACS Central Science. Cancer drugs tagged with a targeting molecule home in on the hydrogel, get caught, and later escape when the acidic tumor microenvironment severs their bonds. Mice treated with the hydrogel displayed slower tumor growth and fewer side effects than controls.
L. Zou et al., “Spatially defined drug targeting by in situ host–guest chemistry in a living animal,” doi:10.1021/acscentsci.9b00195, ACS Cent Sci, 2019.
Nicoletta Lanese is an intern at The Scientist. Email her at nlanese@the-scientist.com.
