Cancer Terminator: Liquid Metal Helps Track and Destroy Cancer Cells
Liquid metal, known to a wide audience from the Terminator franchise, has found application in the fight against cancer.
Researchers at the University of North Carolina argue that such a metal can play a crucial role in delivering drugs exactly to the location of the tumor in the body. Using an alloy of indium with gallium, they were able to identify cancer cells and deliver doxorubicin (a chemotherapeutic agent) to them.
So far, the method has been tested only on animals, but the results of its use are promising. Features of the use of liquid metal are low toxicity, the ability to detect tumors and simple production.
The alloy is mixed with two polymer ligands in a liquid solution, where tiny drops of metal are created using ultrasound. Ligands attach to the droplets from all sides and, oxidizing, separate them from the rest of the metal.
The resulting solution is mixed with a solution of doxoribucin, which, mixed with drops of metal, is attached to one of the ligands. Then, once in the patient’s body, drops of metal use the second ligand to attach to cancer cells, after which doxoribucin enters the case, destroying the tumor cells.
The movement of metal in the body is easy to track, so you can find the place of formation of tumors.