Linda on our 1991 Alaska trip.
Owing to the fact that I am famously inept where computers are concerned, I was unable to read an
article about nanoparticles in cancer research that was the feature story in the latest NCI Cancer Bulletin. However, owing to the fact that it is too hot outside
to do anything healthy or fun I have spent the day messing with my trusty
Toshiba, and I finally stumbled on the correct maneuver. I am glad that I did, for the article is interesting, readable, and
relevant. Go read it yourself.*
Nanoparticles are little globs of biochemical stuff that are
used in various ways in modern medicine.
They are called “nano..” because they are less than 100 nanometers in
diameter. A nanometer is a unit of
length equal to one billionth of a meter. How they make nanoparticles I haven’t a clue, but they do. And
they’re useful. For instance, nanoparticles can be used to package chemo drugs and deliver them directly to a specific tumor, rather than
(as in conventional chemotherapy) using the blood stream to suffuse the body
with the drug in the hope that some of it gets to where it’s needed. Apparently doing chemo using nanoparticles
reduces side effects. I may not
entirely understand this, but it seems that one can festoon the exterior of the
nanoparticles with a protein that will act as a “ligand” and bind to receptors
on the surface of the tumor cells – and to nothing else. Some prospective drugs are of
proven efficacy against cancer but have such fearsome side-effects that
they can’t be used. It was suggested
that these might be packaged in nanoparticles, delivered to the tumor, and do
no harm otherwise. Make it so.
I wish that more of you would go to the trouble of becoming
“Followers”. So far I have only two,
which makes me feel like the drum major of the world’s smallest band. If you don’t know how to become a Follower, neither do I. Maybe Carolyn will post a “Comment” to this blog entry explaining how it’s done.
*I gave you the web address in an earlier post.
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