A Northwestern University study indicates that a tiny carbon particle called a nanodiamond may offer an effective drug delivery solution for hard-to-treat cancers.

Nanodiamonds are carbon-based materials approximately 2 to 8 nanometers in diameter. Each nanodiamond's surface possesses functional groups that allow a wide spectrum of compounds to be attached to it, including chemotherapy agents. The researchers took these nanodiamonds and reversibly bound the common chemotherapy drug doxorubicin to them using a scalable synthesis process, which enhances sustained drug release.

In mouse models with liver and breast cancers, those treated with the nanodiamond complexes retained the chemotherapeutic in circulation longer - up to 10 times longer - compared to those treated with the drug alone. In addition, the drug itself was retained within both types of tumors for a significantly longer period of time. Such a high retention rate means a smaller amount of the very toxic drug would need to be administered, thus reducing side effects. The researchers also noted that the drug-nanodiamond complexes had no negative effect on the white blood cell count.

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