Urea-powered nanomotors a promising therapy for bladder cancer
IBEC’s Smart Nano-Bio-Devices group have published a paper describing nanomotors that can attack 3D bladder cancer spheroids in vitro.
The nanomotors carry anti-FGFR3 on their outer surface, an antibody that not only enables cancerous cells to be specifically targeted, but also inhibits the fibroblast growth factor signaling pathway, suppressing tumor growth. Crucially, the fuel that gives the nanomotors the capability of autonomous motion is urea, which is present at high concentrations in the bladder – making these particular nanomotors a promising avenue for this particular cancer.