Breast Cancer Researchers Ask a Bold Question: What If Chemotherapy Never Circulated?
Breast Cancer Treatment Takes a Leap Forward With Nanoinjection Technology, Delivering Drugs Directly Into Tumor Cells for Safer, More Precise Therapy
Chemotherapy or Cancer treatments were never meant to be gentle for the patients or healthcare workers. For ages, cancer-treating drugs have swept through the body, saving lives, although damaging the very healthy cells of the body in the process. But have you ever thought, what if the drugs never had to circulate at all in the body? What if drugs were delivered more precisely and quietly, and with far less collateral damage to the body? Or what if the drugs could be delivered straight into the specific cancer cell?
Renowned Researchers and Scientists from IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) Madras, in partnership with Australian Scientists, have now moved closer to that reality with a precision Nanoinjection platform designed to inject Chemotherapy drugs directly into Breast Cancer cells, redefining how Cancer treatment could be delivered in the future.
A Step Toward Safer and More Effective Chemotherapy For Breast Cancer
In an advanced and futuristic advancement in Cancer drug delivery, Scientists and Researchers from Deakin University, IIT Madras, and Monash University have developed a ‘precision Nanoinjection platform.’
This nanoinjection platform aids Chemotherapy drugs to be delivered directly into Breast Cancer cells. This advanced Technology has high potential to reduce treatment-related side effects drastically. This Technology also improves the therapeutic precision, an enduring challenge in traditional Cancer care and treatments.
Breast Cancer is one of the leading causes of mortality among women across the globe. Standard and basic treatments, including Radiation Therapy and Chemotherapy, often affect both healthy tissues and Cancerous cells. This is mainly due to systemic drug exposure, which results in compromised quality of life as well as toxicity in the body.
Addressing this challenge, the Indo-Australian Research team designed a targeted drug delivery system. The primary focus of this delivery system is on intracellular delivery, thereby minimizing damage to non-cancerous or healthy cells.
Integrating Nanoarchaeosomes with Silicon Nanotubes
This developed nanoinjection platform combines nanoarchaeosome-based drug encapsulation with SiNT (Silicon Nanotube)-based intracellular delivery to develop a sustained and precise therapeutic system. The anticancer drug Doxorubicin was encapsulated within thermally stable NAs (Nanoarchaeosomes) and subsequently loaded into vertically aligned silicon nanotubes attached onto a silicon wafer.
These silicon nanotubes, or SiNTs, function as nanoinjectors, enabling the direct transfer of drug-loaded nanoarchaeosomes into Cancer cells.
This integrated advanced approach enhances biocompatibility, improves drug targeting, as well as reduces unnecessary exposure of healthy cells to Chemotherapy agents or treatments.
Strong Cytotoxic Effect on Cancer Cells
Experimental studies demonstrated that the platform NAD-SiNTs (Nanoarchaeosome–Doxorubicin–Silicon Nanotubes) exhibited strong anticancer activity against MCF-7 Breast Cancer cells.
Most importantly, the nanoinjection system exhibited minimal toxicity toward healthy fibroblast cells, highlighting its selective action.
Further analysis revealed that NAD-SiNTs induced necrosis and cell-cycle arrest in Breast Cancer cells. In addition, the platform significantly suppressed Angiogenesis, a process by which tumors develop new blood vessels to sustain growth.
This effect was achieved by downregulating key pro-angiogenic factors, thereby limiting tumor progression.
Higher Drug Potency at Lower Doses
One of the most significant findings of the study was the dramatic improvement in drug potency. The NAD-SiNT platform demonstrated a 23-fold lower inhibitory concentration (IC50) compared to free Doxorubicin. This indicates that much smaller drug doses are sufficient to achieve effective Cancer cell inhibition.
Lower effective doses can directly translate into reduced side effects, improved patient tolerance, and lower overall treatment costs. This aspect is particularly relevant for healthcare systems in low- and middle-income countries, where affordability remains a significant barrier to accessing advanced Cancer therapies.
Relevance for Affordable Breast Cancer Care
The Assistant Professor and Faculty Advisor for Clinical Engineering, Department of Applied Mechanics and Biomedical Engineering, IIT Madras, Swathi Sudhakar, stated, “This Research could have transformative implications for healthcare delivery in low- and middle-income countries like India, where access to advanced Cancer therapies remains limited by cost. By enabling targeted delivery of smaller doses with higher efficacy, the system can potentially lower the overall expense of Cancer treatment and improve patients’ quality of life. The platform also aligns with national goals for affordable healthcare innovation and could eventually be adapted for use in treating other forms of Cancer.” She emphasized the broader impacts and potential societal impact of this incredible research.
Collaborative Effort and Publication
The study included an interdisciplinary team consisting of Researchers from IIT Madras, Deakin University, Monash University, as well as collaborators from the Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication.
This incredible Research was supported by the Australian Research Council (ARC) and the IIT Madras–Deakin Joint Research Initiative, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. The results of the Research are published in Advanced Materials Interfaces, a peer-reviewed journal focused on functional materials and advanced surface technologies.
By enabling precise intracellular drug delivery with enhanced efficacy and reduced toxicity, the Nanoinjection platform represents a promising advancement in Breast Cancer treatment Research. The study underscores how nanotechnology-driven solutions can help move Cancer therapy toward safer, more effective, and more accessible treatment strategies without deviating from affordability and clinical relevance.
