Kochi: In a major breakthrough, IIT, Guwahati, has claimed to have developed an injectable hydrogel for localised cancer treatment, media reports said.
This will have less side effects compared to conventional cancer treatments like chemotherapy and surgery which mostly have severe limitations.
A research conducted at IIT(G) with Bose Institute, Kolkata, on this was published in “Materials Horizons”, a journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry, the reports said.
Prof Debapratim Das of IIT-G’s Chemistry Department, said conventional surgical removal of tumours is sometimes not feasible.
Chemotherapy’s systemic delivery often results in harmful side effects affecting healthy cells, he said.
These challenges have been addressed by designing a hydrogel that delivers drugs precisely to the tumour site, ensuring localised action, Das said.
Preclinical trials on a murine model of breast cancer, the hydrogel showed remarkable results.
A single hydrogel injection loaded with the chemotherapy drug Doxorubicin, resulted in a 75 per cent reduction in tumour size within 18 days, he said.
Studies are on to find out maximum reduction in the size of the tumour by a single dose.
Research was also continuing
into other types of tumours. After all the studies are complete, the material will be taken for clinical trials with an appropriate partner, Das said.
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