Scientists from Waseda University, the National Defense Medical College, and the Japan Science and Technology Agency developed a new bioadhesive, wirelessly-powered light-emitting device which could better treat cancers in delicate organs.
Scientists from Waseda University, the National Defense Medical College, and the Japan Science and Technology Agency developed a new bioadhesive, wirelessly-powered light-emitting device which could better treat cancers in delicate organs.
Conventional photodynamic therapy induces cancer cell death by using photosensitizing agents, which localize in tumors and activate with exposure to a specific wavelength of light. In recent years, low-dose and long-term photodynamic therapy (metronomic photodynamic therapy, mPDT) has shown promise in treating cancers in internal organs. The problem with mPDT is, however, is that because the light intensity is extremely low (1/1000 of the conventional method), the antitumor effect cannot be obtained if the light source shifts even slightly away from the tumor, making the illumination insufficient.
“To address this issue, we have developed a wirelessly-powered optoelectronic device that stably fixes itself onto the inner surface of an animal tissue like a sticker with bioadhesive and elastic nanosheets, enabling a continuous, local light delivery to the tumor,” says Toshinori Fujie, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Waseda University. The nanosheets are modified with the mussel adhesive protein-inspired polymer polydopamine, which can stabilize the device onto a wet animal tissue for more than 2 weeks without surgical suturing or medical glue. The light-emitting diode chips in the device are wirelessly powered by near-field-communication technology.
Read more at Waseda University
Image: The newly-developed, bioadhesive, wirelessly-powered implant. (Credit: Dr. Toshinori Fujie, Waseda University)
