Scientists from Russia have found a “precision weapon” against cancer cells.Fitness and health13:39 | 12 July 2023

Researchers from NUST MISiS and the Russian National Research Medical University. Pirogov of the NI Russian Ministry of Health has developed a new approach that allows you to start ferroptosis for the treatment of a number of oncological diseases. The scientists’ work was published in the journal Pharmaceutics.

The new approach is based on the use of nanoparticles, which aim to release the active substance only inside the tumor cells. The scientists achieved this by designing nanostructures that are highly sensitive to the effects of glutathione, a special enzyme that binds reactive oxygen species and whose concentration in tumor tissues is several times higher than in normal ones.

The compositions developed by scientists are particles of iron oxide, covered with a polymer shell, containing redox-sensitive – sensitive to cellular redox processes – compounds with two sulfur atoms in the composition. Timur Nizamov, one of the researchers, explained that they respond to the high reduced potential caused by glutathione, which causes the shell to open inside the cancer cell.

After that, the iron atoms contained inside the nanostructure are released – a powerful oxidizing agent, the reduction of which also consumes glutathione. Together with the disulfides, they mutually reinforce each other and deplete the reserves of the reducing enzyme. This triggers ferroptosis, a type of programmed cell death in response to oxidative stress. Researchers have proven the effectiveness of nanoparticles on a breast cancer cell line.

The magnetic properties of nanoparticles control magnetic fields, increasing the probability of targeted delivery to the tumor site. According to Nizamov, the development of technology will allow the creation of “high-precision weapons” that will work on the principle of “fire and forget” against malignant tumors in the future.