Researchers in the University of Manchester have recently demonstrated that graphene oxide has anti-cancer properties. Cancer is a devastating condition in which cells undergo uncontrolled mitotic divisions and damage the body. Conventional treatments for cancer usually involve chemotherapy and radiotherapy that although are able to kill the bulk of cancer cells, but do not always kill cancer stem cells, precursor cells that can renew and develop into cancer. These stem cells are difficult to identify and are highly resistant to treatment; and as a result, if left untreated in the body they can often cause the cancer to spread throughout the body by a process known as metastasis.
To combat these cells researchers were working with a graphene oxide, a modified version of graphene. Graphene is already considered as a potential material for drug delivery because it can effectively bind to cell surfaces, but in this case graphene oxide itself was able to act as an anticancer drug. It selectively targeted these cancer stem cells and prevented them from forming tumor-spheres. Graphene oxide was effective against six different types of cancers and is now being considered as a potential therapeutic for cancers. However, for this to happen a lot of research still needs to be done and it may take a while before human trials can begin.
Article: Medical News Today
Research Paper: Oncotarget
~ Article summary courtesy of Waleed Khan