科学家开发出改善药物运输的纳米粒子技术

一种化学颗粒重排的新方法的出现，将引发更多更有效的医学疗法被开发。

Warwick大学开发的一种新方法使用了两个“亲本”纳米粒子进行相互作用，只有当两个“亲本”纳米粒子相互靠近才能引发包含在两种纳米粒子中的两种药物分子的释放。“亲本”纳米颗粒中药物分子的释放随后可能形成第三代“子代”粒子,第三代“子代”粒子包含来自“亲本”纳米颗粒的分子。

研究人员表示这种新的机制可能会通过只释放必需的药物来限制其副作用:

“我们假设在血流中的粒子无法充分相互作用而导致药物分子无法释放,而只有当它们进入细胞时药物分子才会释放。”Dove教授说。“通过这种方式药物分子才能如研究人员所希望的那样靶向释放,因此才会更有效并能减少副作用。”

这两个“亲本”纳米颗粒的化学成分对新疗法来说是至关重要的。Dove教授解释道:

“新的机制中使用的这两个“亲本”纳米粒子的形状是柱状的,它们是由聚合链构成的。

当两个“亲本”纳米颗粒足够接近时聚合链就会趋近一起形成一个新的‘子代’纳米颗粒，这种现象称为立体络合反应（stereo complexation）。”

在这次重排过程中,研究人员计划将包裹在亲代纳米颗粒中的药物分子进行释放。

发表在《自然通讯》杂志中的这项研究将提高关于如何管理医学疗法新的可能性。研究人员正在计划进行一项治疗癌症新方法的研究,该方法可以应用于广泛的疾病中。（转化医学网360zhyx.com）

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原文

More efficient medical treatments could be developed thanks to a new method for triggering the rearrangement of chemical particles.

The new method, developed at the University of Warwick, uses two 'parent' nanoparticles that are designed to interact only when in proximity to each other and trigger the release of drug molecules contained within both. The release of the drug molecules from the 'parent' nanoparticles could subsequently form a third 'daughter' particle, which comprises molecules from both 'parent' nanoparticles.

The researchers, led by Professors Andrew Dove and Rachel O'Reilly, suggest that this new mechanism could potentially limit side-effects by only releasing the drug where required:

"We conceive that in the blood stream the particles would not be able to interact sufficiently to lead to release, only when they are taken into cells would the release be able to happen," says Professor Dove. "In this way, the drug can be targeted to only release where we want it to and therefore be more effective and reduce side effects."

The chemical composition of the two 'parent' nanoparticles is crucial to the new method. Professor Dove explains:

"The two 'parent' nanoparticles used in the new mechanism are cylindrical in shape and are made from polymer chains that differ only by the way in which chemical bonds are directed within a part of the structure.

"When the two 'parent' nanoparticles are in close enough proximity the polymer chains are driven to come together to form a new 'daughter' nanoparticle by a phenomenon known as stereocomplexation.

"In the process of this rearrangement, we propose that any molecules, such as drug molecules, that are encapsulated within the parent particles will be released."