Scientists at the University are currently developing complex carrier systems for anti-cancer agents through the application of nanotechnology - a rapidly evolving field of science focused on the very small. With this technology in hand, researchers have developed a means to locally administer drugs at the cellular level, thereby potentially increasing the ease with which tumors may be treated in the future.

During the last meeting of the Board of Regents on June 19, the University was reminded of its place at the helm of cutting-edge cancer research. Mentioned during the meeting was the Medical School's Center for Biologic Nanotechnology, which conducts its high-level research with nanomaterials - complex synthetic molecules that are hundreds of times smaller than human cells.

"This is the start of the post-genomics therapeutic revolution," said James Baker, Professor of Biologic Nanotechnology and the director of the CBN, as quoted in Medicine at Michigan, a University publication.

The Center is the only nanotechnology department in the world with a biological focus.

One of the principal projects of the Center is the development of smart nanodevices to act as anti-cancer agents. The Smart Anti-Cancer Therapeutics Project involves 17 scientists from the Medical School, the College of Engineering and the College of Literature, Sciences and the Arts. These researchers use customized synthetic polymers called dendrimers as vehicles for the delivery of anti-cancer drugs to infected cells.

Last fall, the CBN received a $6.8 million grant from the National Cancer Institute. In addition, the CBN was given a three-year extension on its contract with the NCI.

"The increased funding recognizes our success during the first three years of the project," Baker said in a written statement.

"We demonstrated that we could produce these new therapeutic agents, that they were non-toxic and would target tumor cells in animals. In the next phase of the research study, we will test the combined imaging and anti-tumor effects of these dendrimer-based agents in research animals," Baker added.

The Center has been working on the actual anti-cancer nanodevice for just over one year. Researchers at the CBN hope that the next incarnation of nanotherapeutics will perform five main functions: recognition of cancerous cells, diagnosis of the cause of cancer, drug delivery, reporting tumor location and reporting cancer cell death.

The field of nanotechnology was pioneered by Richard Feynman in 1959. The name nanotechnology comes from the size of the compounds used in application. Measured in nanometers, (1/1,000,000,000 of a meter) in diameter, these compounds can be engineered to be small enough to be injected into the body through a fine hypodermic needle. The University's breakthroughs in nanotechnological research welcomes significant advancements to the field of cancer medicine.