Nanotechnology On Its Way To Treat Children’s Cancer

Dr. Raj Rajasekaran, a researcher at the University of Delaware, says nanotechnology is being used under controlled conditions to deliver some types of chemotherapy to adults, but the technology has a some ways to go before it is applied to children.

The reason why the use of nanotechnology in the treatment of cancer is so exciting is it designed to specifically target cancerous cells. Chemotherapy kills cancerous and normal cells, which is especially problematic in younger developing children because it presents with long-term complications such as learning and structural disabilities, and secondary cancers.

The technology is really amazing and mind-boggling. Nanoparticles are 800 time smaller than the diameter of a strand of hair. The extremely small nanoparticles are filled with and even small amount of chemotherapy.

The nanoparticles have sensors on their surfaces than can specifically target cancer cells and apply the chemotherapy to them. The technology is still in its developmental stages and it will be some time before it will be available on the market as an alternative form of cancer therapy.