Nanotechnology offers hope of prostate cancer breakthrough

A multi-disciplinary team of scientists from the University of Leicester is using nanotechnology to identify a pioneering treatment that could be applied in the treatment of prostate cancer.

The researchers say that microscopic (5-100nm) magnetic nanoparticles could be applied in the sensitive diagnosis and effective treatment of this and other types of cancer.

Dr Wu Su, of the Department of Chemistry, has been awarded a grant worth £321,000 to allow a research team to design high-performance magnetic nanoparticles. This is one of only ten Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in the Life Sciences Interface area given this year by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the first EPSRC postdoctoral research fellowship to be awarded to the University of Leicester.

High-performance magnetic nanoparticles act as probes that show up (using Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and kill (by hyperthermia) tumour cells at a much earlier stage than conventional methods.

The technology, developed at the University of Leicester, is focused on the development of a new type of magnetic nanoparticle in which the magnetic performance is increase by a factor of ten. Targeting these magnetic nanoparticles to unique cell surface receptors present on the prostate tumour cell surface will enable efficient and specific delivery to prostate cancer cells. The approach is general and it is envisaged that these systems could be applied to other types of aggressive cancers (such as liver, breast and colon) in which early diagnosis and treatment is essential for recovery.

Dr Su said: "The technology that we are developing offers the potential of both the identification and treatment of prostate cancer in a highly selective manner."