Nanotech to be trialled in upcoming therapeutic trial for cancer

Nanoparticles dubbed "Cornell dots" are entering their first therapeutic trial, used in the treatment of advanced, recurrent, and refractory cancers.

Developed in Ulrich Wiesner's lab at Cornell University, the C'Dots are silica-encased, fluorescent nanoparticles first unveiled in 2005. They have since been used in creating the world's smallest laser and are shown to have great potential as biological markers. Since proving itself capable of finding cancerous tumors, a new version was created equipped with antibody fragments that allowed them to kill cancer cells in tumors.

After three diagnostic human clinical trials, C'Dots have been proven safe and effective and now begin their first therapeutic trial. Elucida Oncology, Inc. is a biotechnology company co-founded by Wiesner based out of New Jersey, which has iterated on C'Dots to make C'Dot drug conjugates (CDCs), which are nanoparticles attached to dozens of drug molecules.

"We have this [trademarked] 'Target or Clear' paradigm. They either target the tumor, or they get out and do not accumulate at off-target sites in your body. Therefore, they are expected to substantially reduce side effects, relative to previous [therapeutic] platforms," Wiesner said.

C'Dots will find tumors in the body after injection and circulation through the bloodstream. They then diffuse throughout the tumor and attack cancer cells, rather than accumulating only on the surface. Any nanoparticles that do not find a tumor can be efficiently cleared from the body by the kidneys, helping protect the patient from any potential side effects.