News in Science

Nanodiscs cause cancer cell death

Tiny magnetic discs just a millionth of a metre in diameter could be used to kill cancer cells, according to a new study.

Laboratory tests found the so-called 'nanodiscs', around 60 billionths of a metre thick, could be used to disrupt the membranes of cancer cells, causing them to self-destruct.

The results of the research appear in the journal Nature Materials.

One of the study's authors, Dr Elena Rozhlova of Argonne National Laboratory in the United States, says subjecting the nanodiscs to a low magnetic field for around ten minutes was enough to destroy 90% of cancer cells in tests.

Cell death

The researchers used a culture of glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive form of brain cancer, to test the nanodiscs, which are made from an iron-nickel alloy.

When the nanodiscs were exposed to an alternating magnetic field of between 10 to 20 Hz, it caused them to oscillate, disrupting the membranes of the cancer cells resulting in cell death.

The method uses magnetic fields only one tenth the strength of those of used in previous approaches, and at much lower frequencies, avoiding the negative side effects associated with higher-strength fields.

Previous research into the use of magnetic-nanoparticles have required high magnetic fields or resulted in the accumulation of particles due to permanent magnetisation of the particles which form into clumps in the body.

The researchers say this new technique offers "exciting avenues for probing cell mechanics... as well as for advancing cancer therapies."

In a commentary on the report, Professor Jon Dobson of Keele University in Britain says antibodies could be used to direct the discs towards tumour cells.

"This provides an elegant and rapid technique for targeting tumour destruction without the side effects associated with systemic treatments such as chemotherapy."