NEW DELHI, India — Researchers led by the Indian Institute of Technology Madras have developed a next-generation nanoinjection drug delivery platform that could make breast cancer treatment safer, more effective and less costly.
Breast cancer remains one of the leading causes of death among women worldwide, and conventional treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation often damage healthy tissues due to systemic exposure to powerful drugs.
The newly developed platform delivers the anticancer drug doxorubicin directly into cancer cells using thermally stable nanoarchaeosomes loaded into vertically aligned silicon nanotubes etched onto a silicon wafer. The approach enables precise, sustained delivery of medication while minimizing harm to surrounding healthy cells.
The international research team, which includes scientists from Monash University and Deakin University in Australia, combined nanoarchaeosome-based drug encapsulation with silicon nanotube-based intracellular delivery to create a targeted therapeutic system.
Findings from experiments conducted on in vitro cell cultures and ex ovo chick embryo models were published in the journal Advanced Materials Interfaces. The studies showed that the Nanoarchaeosome-Doxorubicin-Silicon nanotube platform induced strong cytotoxic effects against MCF-7 breast cancer cells while largely sparing healthy fibroblast cells.
Researchers observed that the system caused cell-cycle arrest and necrosis in cancer cells and significantly reduced angiogenesis, the process by which tumors form new blood vessels. This was achieved by suppressing key pro-angiogenic factors associated with tumor growth.
Notably, the platform demonstrated an inhibitory concentration that was 23 times lower than that of free doxorubicin, indicating higher potency at much lower doses. Researchers said this could translate into reduced treatment costs and fewer side effects for patients.
Dr. Swathi Sudhakar, assistant professor in the Department of Applied Mechanics and Biomedical Engineering at IIT Madras, said the technology could have far-reaching implications for healthcare delivery in low- and middle-income countries such as India.
By enabling targeted delivery of smaller drug doses with higher efficacy, the system has the potential to lower overall cancer treatment costs and improve patients’ quality of life, she said, adding that the platform could also be adapted for treating other forms of cancer.
Unlike nanoinjection systems made from carbon or titanium nanotubes, the silicon nanotube-based design is inherently biocompatible and non-toxic, eliminating the need for additional surface modifications. Researchers said this makes the technology more reliable and scalable for future clinical use.
The next phase of research will focus on in vivo testing, long-term toxicity studies and regulatory assessments as the team works toward preclinical and clinical translation of the platform. (Source: IANS)
