LONDON (Dispatches)-Scientists from the Tomsk Polytechnic University's Laboratory of Novel Dosage are developing a technology to control mesenchymal stem cells of patients. The technology will allow treating cancer more effective. To fight cancer cells the scientists suggest using the patient's own magnet controlled cells. Native body cells won't be rejected by its immune system and can deliver medication directly into the center of the disease.
The development of magnetic cells is jointly carried out by Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) and colleagues from Pavlov State Medical University of St. Petersburg and Queen Mary University of London.
The novel technology implies that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) of the patient's body with the size of about 10 microns are internationalized with magnetic controlled microcapsules with drug inside. External trigging (magnet) targets cells to tumor; make microcontainers open and release encapsulated compound. Thus, drug is precisely delivered affecting cancer cells and without causing harm to health.
For the first time, the scientists have demonstrated the efficiency of internationalization of magnetic microcapsules by MSCs to functionalize cells and to design magnetic controlled cells and tissue engineering systems.