What is a "cancer nanodetector" from Google? Opinion of a professor at the University of Strathclyde

Last week, Google Corporation excited the news sphere of the Internet, talking about its intention to create a nanodetector of serious diseases . Then the company announced that the system will consist of two parts: a magnetic bracelet and magnetic nanoparticles, which will be introduced into the patient's body in the form of a tablet.

The news gave a general concept of the concept itself. Now professor at the University of Strathclyde Duncan Graham, a specialist in nanoparticles and a scientific adviser at Cancer Research UK, decided to clarify the situation on this project, as well as on many issues of interest in the use of nanotechnology for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

What can you say about the Google project?

In general, what Google has announced about the project is quite common, and it’s rather difficult to understand what the corporation is going to do.

There are no concrete proposals, references to any research, and there are no strategies for further research - all that is commonly used in scientific work. But Google is Google, they do everything in their own way.

Traditional science tries to assess all possible risks, show how these risks are taken into account, indicate ideas for promoting the project based on a solid calculation, and then request funding. At Google, the opposite is true - at first they say that they want to do this, and they will take care of the details later.

My colleague and I noticed that Google has a powerful team of scientists, with excellent achievements in their field. Therefore, we can assume that they are obviously doing something very interesting, but this work is different from the traditional development of diagnostics.

However, the corporation does not disclose any details about the upcoming project. In particular, they talk about the fact that the "nanodetector" will use magnetic particles. However, most people think that such particles will consist of iron or cobalt - and this does not correlate with the real state of things, this is a simple assumption.

How are things with nanotechnology and diagnostics?

Now “in the game” there are a large number of different research teams that are studying what the common name is “biosensing” - long-term monitoring of the processes occurring in the body, with the hope of early detection of problems.

There are two main ways of using nanoparticles: optical - where nanoparticles either emit light themselves, or change the optical characteristics of tissues, and magnetic systems. One of the most famous specialists working on the second path is Sanjiv Gambhir of their Stanford. And it was this specialist, judging by this article , who advised Google on nanotechnology.

What problems do these projects have now?

The first problem is the retention of nanoparticles in the body. Foreign substances / particles are usually excreted very quickly by the kidneys. Therefore, the Google project should have in stock a way by which nanoparticles will be retained in the body.

The second problem is bio-pollution. We are talking about biological particles in the body that simply stick to nanoparticles and make them useless.

Of course, any biosensor must be accurate. What will be the accuracy of the Google nanodetector? What is the level of false positives? And this we do not mention the various difficulties with the law and ethical standards.

One must be very careful when using the word “diagnosis”, since only a doctor, not an instrument, can make a diagnosis. The tool can only show the doctor symptoms, signs, after which the specialist makes a diagnosis.

Who owns the data?

There are also difficulties, because Google is already under considerable pressure from people and organizations who are wondering who can get access to the data stored on the company's servers and under what conditions they get it.

How else can nanotechnology be used in oncology?

Another idea is nanotechnology treatment. For example, there is a company called Nanospectra . This company has developed a technology that uses particles of gold. These particles are sent to the tumor, and then heated by radiation, to destroy cancer cells. Now this project is already being tested in humans, in cases of cancer of the head and neck, as well as lung cancer.

At the end of the interview, the professor recalls that not only Google is working in the field of nanotechnology for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Many research groups do this. Nevertheless, with the financial capabilities of this company, the project can clearly give the world something new in this area.

I'd love to believe, right?