Researchers from Children’s Hospital, Boston and Harvard University-based Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering have discovered "smart" injectable nanotherapeutics that can be selectively programmed to transmit drugs to pancreatic cells.
Even though this nanotechnology will need to be substantially tested and developed before being actually used, it will ensure a better treatment for Type I diabetes by enhancing therapeutic efficiency and minimising side effects.
This enabled increase in drug efficiency 200 times in in-vitro studies depending on the capability of these nanomaterials to ensure that the drug does not degrade as well as target it at specific sites, for instance, pancreatic regions that have insulin-producing cells. Due to the drastic increase in efficiency, lesser drug amounts are required to ensure that toxic side effects are considerably reduced and so is the cost of treatment.
Type I diabetes is common in children and young people and damages pancreatic insulin-producing cells. Therapeutic treatment for high-risk persons have been restricted especially due to the serious side effects when administered in high-dosage.
By using programmable nanoparticles for stem cell or drug therapies to particular disease sites, the responses are better and there are lesser side effects. Though till now nanotherapeutics have been used for cancer treatment as it can target the tumor through its leaky blood vessels. The scientists used a homing peptide molecule to form smart nanoparticles that can search and attach itself in the pancreatic capillary blood vessels that feed the insulin-producing cells at high-risk during the start of the disease.
Source: http://www.wyss.harvard.edu