Cancer Treatment

As one of the most prevalent causes of death worldwide, cancer is characterized by uncontrolled proliferation of normal cells, evasion of apoptosis, and eventual formation of tumor tissue. Cancer requires a variety of advanced treatments, including chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgical excision. Nanomaterials have emerged as promising tools for cancer treatment due to their unique physical and chemical properties, such as high surface-to-volume ratio, biocompatibility, and tunable optical and magnetic properties. As a nanomaterial, dendrimers can be functionalized with various molecules such as drugs, imaging agents and targeting molecules that can be used to selectively deliver therapeutic agents to cancer cells.

Current Approaches and Limitations of Cancer Treatment

Cancer treatment refers to the various methods used to control and potentially cure cancer, including surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and hormonal therapy. The most appropriate treatment or combination of treatments depends on a variety of factors, including the type and stage of the cancer, the patient's overall health status, and their personal preferences. One of these treatments, chemotherapy, involves the use of drugs to destroy cancer cells. These drugs can be given orally or intravenously and can be used alone or in combination with other treatments.

The limitations of current cancer treatments are cytotoxicity, drug resistance, low targeting and poor drug stability, solubility and metabolism. This has shifted the focus of cancer treatment research to better targeted and precise treatments with better efficacy. Nanotechnology has emerged as a promising area for drug targeting, not only as a therapeutic agent and drug delivery vehicle, but also for bioimaging, detection and diagnosis of different types of cancer.

The Use of Dendrimers in Cancer Treatment

• Drug Delivery
  Dendrimers are nanoscale synthetic polymer structures that have potential applications in cancer therapy. They are characterized by a highly branched three-dimensional structure and tunable surface chemistry, which makes them attractive as drug delivery carriers. Dendrimers can be functionalized with a variety of molecules, such as drugs, imaging agents, and targeting molecules, which can be used to selectively deliver therapeutic agents to cancer cells. For example, dendrimers can be conjugated with antibodies or other ligands to specifically bind to cancer cell surface markers for targeted delivery of drugs. This can help reduce toxicity and improve the efficacy of cancer therapy.

Delivery of doxorubicin and cisplatin via covalently linked PAMAM dendrimers to enhance the synergistic effects of cancer therapy. (Guo XL, et al., 2019)

• Photodynamic Therapy
  Dendrimers can be used as carriers for photosensitizing agents, allowing for improved targeting of cancer cells and increased efficacy of the therapy. Additionally, the ability to functionalize the surface of dendrimers with specific targeting moieties, such as antibodies or peptides, can further enhance the specificity of the therapy. Dendrimers can also improve the photostability of photosensitizing agents, preventing premature degradation, and increasing the efficacy of the therapy.
• Photothermal Therapy
  Dendrimers are nanoscale polymeric particles that have unique properties, including high surface area, tunable size, and the ability to functionalize their surface with specific chemical moieties, that make them promising candidates for use in photothermal therapy.
• Stem Cell Therapy
  In stem cell therapy, dendrimers can be used to directly deliver therapeutic agents, such as growth factors or RNA, to stem cells to enhance their survival, proliferation, and differentiation. In addition to the ability to deliver stem cells, dendrimers can also be used to protect stem cells from the harsh microenvironment in vivo and enhance the interaction of stem cells with their surroundings.

How We Can Help

As a leading global provider of custom services, CD BioSciences is committed to providing you with innovative dendrimer products and high-quality services to help you realize a wide range of dendrimer applications in the biomedical field. If you are interested in our services or have any additional questions, please feel free to contact us.

Reference

1. Guo XL.; et al. Co-delivery of cisplatin and doxorubicin by covalently conjugating with polyamidoamine dendrimer for enhanced synergistic cancer therapy. Acta Biomater. 2019, 84: 367-377.