We propose a multi-scale approach to understanding physics related to the ion/proton-beam cancer therapy and calculation of the probability of the DNA damage as a result of irradiation of patients with energetic (up to 430 MeV/u) ions. This approach is inclusive with respect to different scales starting from the long scale defined by the ion stopping followed by a smaller scale defined by secondary electrons and radicals ending with the shortest scale defined by interactions of secondaries with the DNA. We present calculations of the probabilities of single and double strand breaks of the DNA and suggest a way of further elaboration of such calculations.
Plasma activated medium, containing reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS), has been used for cancer treatment as an indirect treatment method. Here we report cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) activated deionized (DI) water using helium (He), argon (Ar), and nitrogen (N2) as feeding gas for the cancer therapy. Basic characteristics of CAP activated DI water with different feeding gases were diagnosed and the effects of three solutions on the breast cancer cells and gastric cancer cells were also recorded. Our findings show that DI water treated by CAP with He feeding gas…
After irradiation of cancer cells in the ion beam therapy method the concentration of hydrogen peroxide in the cell medium grows significantly. But the role of hydrogen peroxide molecules in cancer treatment has not been determined yet. We assume that interaction of peroxide molecules with DNA atomic groups can block the genetic information of the cancer cell and lead to its neutralization. To understand the possibility of DNA deactivation in the cell, in the present study the formation of complexes of hydrogen peroxide molecules with DNA specific recognition sites (nucleic bases) is considere…
In this paper we present the main ideas and discuss both the feasibility and the conceptual design of a novel hybrid technique and equipment for an experimental cancer therapy based on the simultaneous and/or sequential application of two beams, namely a beam of neutrons and a CW (continuous wave) or intermittent sub-terahertz wave beam produced by a gyrotron for treatment of cancerous tumors. The main simulation tools for the development of the computer aided design (CAD) of the prospective experimental facility for clinical trials and study of such new medical technology are briefly reviewed…
Electrospinning is historically related to tissue engineering due to its ability to produce nano-/microscale fibrous materials with mechanical and functional properties that are extremely similar to those of the extracellular matrix of living tissues. The general interest in electrospun fibrous matrices has recently expanded to cancer research both as scaffolds for in vitro cancer modelling and as patches for in vivo therapeutic delivery. In this review, we examine electrospinning by providing a brief description of the process and overview of most materials used in this process, discussing th…
We propose a multi-scale approach to understand the physics related to ion-beam cancer therapy. It allows the calculation of the probability of DNA damage as a result of irradiation of tissues with energetic ions, up to 430 MeV/u. This approach covers different scales, starting from the large scale, defined by the ion stopping, followed by a smaller scale, defined by secondary electrons and radicals, and ending with the shortest scale, defined by interactions of secondaries with the DNA. We present calculations of the probabilities of single and double strand breaks of DNA, suggest a way to fu…
Therapeutic protons acting on O18-substituted thymidine increase cytotoxicity in radio-resistant human cancer cells. We consider here the physics behind the irradiation during proton beam therapy and diagnosis using O18-enriched thymine in DNA, with attention to the effect of the presence of thymine-18 on cancer cell death.
About half of human cancers show normal TP53 gene and aberrant overexpression of Mdm2 and/or MdmX. This fact promotes a promising cancer therapeutic strategy which targeting the interactions between p53 and Mdm2/MdmX. For developing the inhibitors to disrupt the p53-Mdm2/MdmX interactions, we systematically investigate structural and interaction characteristics of p53 and inhibitors with Mdm2 and MdmX from atomistic level by exploiting stochastic molecular dynamics simulations. We find that some specific $α$ helices in Mdm2 and MdmX structure play key role in their bindings with inhibitors and…
Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) has been emerged as a novel technology for cancer treatment. CAP can directly treat cells and tissue but such direct application is limited to skin or can be invoked as a supplement during open surgery. In this study we report indirect plasma treatment using CAP discharged in DI water using three gases as carriers (argon, helium and nitrogen). Plasma stimulated water was applied to human breast cancer cell line (MDA-MB-231). MTT assay tests showed that using argon plasma had the strongest effect on inducing apoptosis in cultured human breast cancer cells. This res…
A new type of metabolizable and efficient radiosensitizer for cancer radiotherapy is presented in this study by combining ultrasmall Au nanoclusters (NCs, <2 nm) with biocompatible coating ligands (glutathione, GSH). The new nano-construct (GSH-coated Au25 NCs) inherits attractive features of both the Au core (strong radiosensitizing effect) and GSH shell (good biocompatibility). It can preferentially accumulate in tumor via the improved EPR effect, which leads to strong enhancement for cancer radiotherapy. After the treatment, the small-sized GSH-Au25 NCs can be efficiently cleared by the kid…
The growth of many solid tumors has been found to be driven by chemo- and radiotherapy-resistant cancer stem cells (CSCs). A suitable therapeutic avenue in these cases may involve the use of a differentiating agent (DA) to force the differentiation of the CSCs and of conventional therapies to eliminate the remaining differentiated cancer cells (DCCs). To describe the effects of a DA that reprograms CSCs into DCCs, we adapt a differential equation model developed to investigate tumorspheres, which are assumed to consist of jointly evolving CSC and DCC populations. We analyze the mathematical pr…
Oncolytic virotherapy - the use of viruses that specifically kill tumor cells - is an innovative and highly promising route for treating cancer. However, its therapeutic outcomes are mainly impaired by the host immune response to the viral infection. In the present work, we propose a multiscale mathematical model to study how the immune response interferes with the viral oncolytic activity. The model assumes that cytotoxic T cells can induce apoptosis in infected cancer cells and that free viruses can be inactivated by neutralizing antibodies or cleared at a constant rate by the innate immune …
Short single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) functionalized by PEGylated phospholipids are biologically non-toxic and long-circulating nanomaterials with intrinsic near infrared photoluminescence (NIR PL), characteristic Raman spectra, and strong optical absorbance in the near infrared (NIR). This work demonstrates the first dual application of intravenously injected SWNTs as photoluminescent agents for in vivo tumor imaging in the 1.0-1.4 μm emission region and as NIR absorbers and heaters at 808 nm for photothermal tumor elimination at the lowest injected dose (70 μg of SWNT/mouse, equivalen…
Bi, a high atom number element, has a high photoelectric absorption coefficient, and Se element has anticancer activity. Hence, their compound chalcogenide (Bi2Se3) deserves a thorough investigation for biomedical applications. This study reveals that Bi2Se3 nanoplates (54 nm wide) protected with poly(vinylpyrollidone) (PVP) are biocompatible and have low toxicity even at a high dose of 20 mg/kg in mice. This conclusion was made through the studies on the biodistribution and 90-day long term in vivo clearance of the nanoplates. Liver and spleen were dominant organs for the nanoplates accumulat…
Gold nanoparticles have been conceived as a radiosensitizer in cancer radiation therapy, but one of the important questions for primary drug screening is what size of gold nanoparticles can optimally enhance radiation effects. Herein, we perform in vitro and in vivo radiosensitization studies of 4.8, 12.1, 27.3, and 46.6 nm PEG-coated gold nanoparticles. In vitro results show that all sizes of the PEG-coated gold nanoparticles can cause a significant decrease in cancer cell survival after gamma radiation. 12.1 and 27.3 nm PEG-coated gold nanoparticles have dispersive distributions in the cells…
After the discovery of laser therapy it was realized it has useful application of wound healing and reduce pain, but due to the poor understanding of the mechanism and dose response this technique remained to be controversial for therapeutic applications. In order to understand the working and effectiveness different experiments were performed to determine the laser beam effect at the cellular and tissue level. This article discusses the mechanism of beam interaction at tissues and cellular level with different light sources and dosimetry principles for clinical application of low level laser …
