12 July, 2022 by Redaction La TintaLANSAB was born in February 2020, just before the pandemic began, when biotechnologists Jorge Montanari and Natalia Calienni, graduates of the National University of Quilmes (UNQ), decided to move to UNAHUR and create their own laboratory.The investigator Cristian Lillo also joined immediately.Today the team has eight members and this week, in addition, two researchers from the Czech Republic joined them and will work with them for a month."Sorry we're at a thousand, that's just how our days are lately!" Natalia apologizes, while she juggles responding to the TSS interview, finishing the request for a subsidy and explaining the tasks to the new members.The researchers are working on several projects linked to the use of nanotechnology, which consists of manipulating materials on such a tiny scale that they cannot be seen with ordinary microscopes.To get an idea, a million nanometers fit in a millimeter.An advantage of this is that, at the nanoscale, the properties of materials change and they can become stronger, lighter or more durable, among other possibilities.One of his projects has to do with the development of nanotechnological strategies to improve existing therapies against skin cancer.“The idea of ​​using nanotechnology is to achieve a more direct application on the tumor.The big problem with cancer treatments is the side effects, since when using radiotherapy or oral drugs it is difficult to distinguish between healthy and tumor cells.For this reason, today medicine aims to seek more localized strategies”, explains Montanari.In particular, the researchers are focusing on one type of skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma.“It is not the most aggressive but it is quite frequent.In addition, it is often diagnosed at an advanced stage, so more invasive treatments are required,” says Calienni.This tumor can lodge in any part of the body but, being closer to the surface of the skin, it is possible to reach it through a topical application.The final objective of the scientists is to generate a product that can be placed non-invasively, by means of a cream or gel.To do this, the project is divided into two lines.One consists of using nanotechnological systems (made with liposomes, which have a spherical shape) to encapsulate a drug that is currently used against this type of cancer: vismodegib.“What we do is take advantage of this drug that we know has an antitumor effect and we try to change the route of administration.The nanosystems that we elaborate allow to cross the impermeable barrier of the skin and reach the deepest layers, directly on the tumors.In this way, we seek to obtain greater efficacy and fewer side effects”, indicates Montanari.So far, the researchers have carried out tests on ex vivo skin models, from discarded plastic surgeries.There they verified that the developed nanosystem was able to penetrate the skin.They also carried out in vitro tests with cell lines of cancerous origin and were able to show that the drug maintained its antitumor action.Another advantage of this method is that it would considerably reduce the dose currently used in therapies with this drug, which in turn would result in lower costs."In the trials we recovered almost three times more medication than if it was administered orally, and using much less quantity: 2,500 times less than the concentration that is taken in a daily dose," Calienni said.The second line of the project seeks to test various nanoparticles that allow a more focused action on the tumor.In other words, in this case, nanotechnology would not only be used as a means of transport, but also as a possible active ingredient.For that they are testing with two types of nanoparticles: gold nanorods and carbon quantum dots.This last type is obtained from waste organic matter, such as used yerba mate, fruit juice and remains of leaves.“We put those remains in a Teflon reactor, we give it heat and we bring it to high pressure.Then, the material breaks down and something similar to an ash remains.From there we extract the nanoparticles.We cannot see them but what we see are suspensions of a certain color.It's interesting because when you point a laser of one color at them, they fluoresce in another color.This could also serve to make a diagnosis”, says the biotechnologist.These nanoparticles are known as photodynamic and photothermal effectors, and the toxicity necessary to destroy the tumor is activated when exposed to light.The plan of action, then, would be as follows: the effectors enter the tumor cell (for example, through a cream), that area is illuminated with light and this increases the temperature in a very localized way.This action generates heat and allows cells around the tumor to be destroyed.This strategy could also be used for other skin diseases, such as cutaneous leishmaniasis, and is another line of study that the team is working on.“Nanotechnology is a toolbox.First you think about what you want to achieve and then you try to combine those tools to achieve your goal.In our case, it is about seeing how we can reach a tumor in a more effective and localized way, but the strategies can be adapted according to what is needed, ”says Montanari.In the coming months, the researchers will test the vismodegib encapsulation strategy in mice.This stage of the investigation will be carried out together with the immunologist Daniel González Maglio, a researcher at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry of the UBA.They will also continue to fine-tune gold nanorods and carbon quantum dots.“Another line that we are going to explore has to do with a derivative of cannabis, cannabidiol, since it could have antitumor action.We want to see if we can encapsulate CBD in the drug transport system that we use and if it indeed has a therapeutic action similar to the drug”, concluded Calienni.*By Nadia Luna for Agencia TSS / Cover image:Filed Under: Nationals Tagged With: Buenos Aires, cancer, National University of Hurlingham (UNAHUR)Copyright © 2022 Genesis Sample on Genesis Framework WordPress Log in