http://www.physorg.com/news157655203.html
Light-activated 'lock' can control blood clotting, drug delivery
March 30th, 2009
Scientists have shed new light -- literally -- on a possible way to
starve cancer tumors or prevent side effects from a wide range of
drugs.
A lock-like molecule designed by University of Florida chemistry
researchers clasps or unclasps based on exposure to light. In
laboratory tests, the chemists put the lock on an enzyme involved in
blood clotting. They then exposed the enzyme to visible and
ultraviolet light. The clasp opened and closed, clotting the blood or
letting it flow.
The results suggest that the biological hardware could one day be used
to prevent the formation of tiny blood vessels that feed tumors. The
little lock could also be placed in drugs, giving doctors the ability
to release them only on diseased cells, tissues or organs --
maximizing their efficacy while preventing side effects from damage to
healthy tissue.
Endoscopic lights inserted into the patient could unlock the drugs
when desired -- or, the drugs could be activated by simply exposing
the skin nearest the targets to near-infrared light, which penetrates
the skin.
The major idea is to use photons to manipulate a molecule's
function, said Weihong Tan, the V.T. and Lois Jackson chaired
professor of chemistry and a member of the UF Shands Cancer Center.
The next step would be to deliver therapeutic re-agents at the site,
for example, of a cancer tumor.
A paper about the research is set to appear next week in the online
edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Youngmi Kim, who earned her doctorate in chemistry from UF in December
and is the paper's first author, said the lock has two interconnected
parts: a molecule that responds to light, and a short, single strand
of active DNA known to scientists as an aptamer. In its natural state,
the aptamer binds with an enzyme called thrombin, which regulates
blood clotting. The aptamer inactivates the enzyme, which allows the
blood to flow freely.
Kim's locking version, however, folds itself into a curved, closed
shape when exposed to visible light. That prevents it from binding, or
clasping, which means the enzyme remains active and the blood clots.
But with ultraviolet light, the curving shape dissolves, freeing the
aptamer to clasp, inactivating the enzyme, and allowing the blood to
flow freely.
Tan said further research could point to ways to use the lock in
combination with thrombin or other substances, natural or artificial,
to inhibit the growth of blood vessels around tumors or the delivery
of nutrients through those vessels.
The locking molecule could also be affixed to a wide range of other
drugs to remain inactive until they reached their targets and light is
applied, he said.
Not only that, but Tan said he has made progress on related research
using similar mechanisms to make hydrogels that liquefy or gel
around a target in response to light.
Source: University of Florida (news : web)
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