<p>The Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati (IIT-G) announced on Monday that one of their research teams has developed a new way to deliver chemotherapeutic drugs, especially to the cancerous cells, in a patient’s body.</p>.<p>A statement issued by the IIT-G said that the results of the research were published in the journals by the Royal Society of Chemistry, including <em>ChemComm</em> and <em>Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry</em>.</p>.<p>“The problem with existing chemotherapeutic drugs is that they kill healthy cells of the body in addition to cancerous cells, leading to numerous undesirable side-effects. In fact, it is believed that cancer deaths are as much due to the side effects of chemotherapy as the disease itself. There is worldwide research to overcome the drawbacks of secondary toxicity of chemotherapeutic drugs,” the statement read.</p>.<p><b>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/science-and-environment/british-indian-doctor-warns-of-pandemic-of-misinformation-around-covid-19-vaccines-1148407.html" target="_blank">British-Indian doctor warns of 'pandemic of misinformation' around Covid-19 vaccines</a></b></p>.<p>Debasis Manna, a professor of chemistry at IIT-G, said that the molecules developed by the team assemble to form hollow spherical shells in water. These shells that are ten-millionth of a metre in size can be used as a minuscule container for the drug molecule. The molecule also has a part (the acetazolamide ligand) that specifically binds to cancer cells and not normal cells.</p>.<p>“Thus, the molecules developed by the IIT-G researchers self-assemble as capsules to hold the drug, which then attaches only to cancer cells. When infrared light is shone on it, the shell breaks and releases the encapsulated drug into the cancerous cell,” said the statement.</p>.<p>The research papers were co-authored by Professor Manna, research scholars Subhasis Dey, Anjali Patel, and Biswa Mohan Prusty, among others. Anti-cancer activities were carried out in collaboration with professor Siddhartha Sankar Ghosh and Plaboni Sen from IIT-G, and Calcutta University professors Arindam Bhattacharyya and Soumya Chatterjee, the statement said.</p>.<p>“The societal impacts of this work cannot be overstated. Given that the number of cancer patients in India is anticipated to be 30 million by 2025, the development of effective chemotherapeutic drugs and delivery systems is critical. The researchers believe that the development of target-specific, light-responsive, self-imaging macrocyclic lipids such as those they’ve developed could help in image-guided chemotherapeutic applications,” said the statement.</p>.<p>Following the development of the targeted IR (light)-trigger drug release system, the IIT-Guwahati researchers are preparing to perform in-vivo studies to take this understanding closer to drug development, it said.</p>
<p>The Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati (IIT-G) announced on Monday that one of their research teams has developed a new way to deliver chemotherapeutic drugs, especially to the cancerous cells, in a patient’s body.</p>.<p>A statement issued by the IIT-G said that the results of the research were published in the journals by the Royal Society of Chemistry, including <em>ChemComm</em> and <em>Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry</em>.</p>.<p>“The problem with existing chemotherapeutic drugs is that they kill healthy cells of the body in addition to cancerous cells, leading to numerous undesirable side-effects. In fact, it is believed that cancer deaths are as much due to the side effects of chemotherapy as the disease itself. There is worldwide research to overcome the drawbacks of secondary toxicity of chemotherapeutic drugs,” the statement read.</p>.<p><b>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/science-and-environment/british-indian-doctor-warns-of-pandemic-of-misinformation-around-covid-19-vaccines-1148407.html" target="_blank">British-Indian doctor warns of 'pandemic of misinformation' around Covid-19 vaccines</a></b></p>.<p>Debasis Manna, a professor of chemistry at IIT-G, said that the molecules developed by the team assemble to form hollow spherical shells in water. These shells that are ten-millionth of a metre in size can be used as a minuscule container for the drug molecule. The molecule also has a part (the acetazolamide ligand) that specifically binds to cancer cells and not normal cells.</p>.<p>“Thus, the molecules developed by the IIT-G researchers self-assemble as capsules to hold the drug, which then attaches only to cancer cells. When infrared light is shone on it, the shell breaks and releases the encapsulated drug into the cancerous cell,” said the statement.</p>.<p>The research papers were co-authored by Professor Manna, research scholars Subhasis Dey, Anjali Patel, and Biswa Mohan Prusty, among others. Anti-cancer activities were carried out in collaboration with professor Siddhartha Sankar Ghosh and Plaboni Sen from IIT-G, and Calcutta University professors Arindam Bhattacharyya and Soumya Chatterjee, the statement said.</p>.<p>“The societal impacts of this work cannot be overstated. Given that the number of cancer patients in India is anticipated to be 30 million by 2025, the development of effective chemotherapeutic drugs and delivery systems is critical. The researchers believe that the development of target-specific, light-responsive, self-imaging macrocyclic lipids such as those they’ve developed could help in image-guided chemotherapeutic applications,” said the statement.</p>.<p>Following the development of the targeted IR (light)-trigger drug release system, the IIT-Guwahati researchers are preparing to perform in-vivo studies to take this understanding closer to drug development, it said.</p>