Page 10 - PERIODIC Magazine Issue 5

N ew Research continued

Nicky Farrer inactive, but upon treatment with ultrasound they are
destroyed and readily release the drug. A focussed beam
Metal-based systems for
targeted drug delivery of ultrasound in a cancerous region will release and
catapult the platinum (IV) compound deep into the tumour,
where they are reduced to the active platinum (II) form.
Dr Farrer’s multi-disciplinary* Ultrasound is a promising technique for drug delivery as it
research aims to develop metal- can be highly focused, meaning drugs will only be released
based systems that respond to and taken up by specific, targeted, cancerous cells. It is
ultrasound for targeted drug envisaged that lower drug doses will be required, resulting
delivery of anti-cancer drugs, for in less undelivered drug in the body and reduced side-
improved quality and length of life of cancer patients. effects of the treatment. Ultrasound can also penetrate
Platinum (II) compounds are well-established, highly deeply into the body meaning that a number of different
effective anti-cancer agents, found in around 50% of cancers can be accessed.
chemotherapy treatments. Platinum compounds kill *Dr Farrer is collaborating with researchers in the
cells by binding to DNA which stops aggressive tumours Department of Chemistry and the Institute of Biomedical
from developing. However, without targeted delivery Engineering, University of Oxford.
mechanisms, they will also attack healthy cells, leading to
severe side-effects such as nausea and permanent kidney
damage.
Dr Farrer is designing new platinum
(IV) drugs that are less toxic in the
bloodstream than traditional platinum
(II) drugs. The drugs are encapsulated
inside liposomes (vesicles made of
lipid bilayers) and attached to a larger
gas-filled bubble, making a drug
delivery vehicle (approximately the
size of a red blood cell). The drug
delivery vehicles are being designed
to respond to external stimuli: in the
absence of ultrasound they remain

Read more at http://research.chem.ox.ac.uk/nicola-farrer.aspx

10
Periodic The Magazine of the Department of Chemistry