October 24, 2019
News Release

New Nanotube Drug Delivery Shows Promise

New drug-delivery technology

Peptoid nanotubes designed in the lab show promise in killing lung cancer cells.

Y. Luo, et al. (2019) Bioinspired Peptoid Nanotubes for Targeted Tumor Cell Imaging and Chemo‐Photodynamic Therapy. Small Vol.15(43) p.1902485. Copyright Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA. Reproduced with permission.

A new drug delivery method designed by researchers at PNNL and Washington State University (WSU) has shown it can target and kill lung cancer cells. The research, led by Chun-Long Chen, a senior research scientist at PNNL and a joint faculty fellow at the University of Washington, and research partner Yuehe Lin, a professor at the WSU School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, appears as a cover article this month in the journal Small.

The technology features two drugs—one for chemotherapy and the other for photodynamic therapy treatment—delivered directly to cancer cells. Photodynamic therapy uses a chemical that, when exposed to light, releases reactive oxygen species that kill cancer cells. The researchers’ dual drug killed the cancer cells at lower doses than typically used in clinical settings.

“By using these peptoids, we were able to develop highly programmable nanotubes and a biocompatible delivery mechanism,” said Chen. “We also harnessed the high stability of peptoid and its well-controlled packing to develop nanotubes that are highly stable.”

While carbon nanotubes have also been used to deliver and track cancer-killing drugs, researchers have found them toxic to the body. The next step for this new nanotube technology will be preclinical animal studies.

WSU and PNNL have filed a joint patent for the technology. The work was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science.

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About PNNL

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory draws on its distinguishing strengths in chemistry, Earth sciences, biology and data science to advance scientific knowledge and address challenges in sustainable energy and national security. Founded in 1965, PNNL is operated by Battelle for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, which is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. DOE’s Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://energy.gov/science. For more information on PNNL, visit PNNL's News Center. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Published: October 24, 2019