奈米機器人可能是膀胱癌治療的未來

一項新的研究探索使用奈米機器人更有效地向患者分發抗腫瘤藥物。結果可能會對治療的進展產生巨大影響。

A new study explores the use of nanobots to distribute tumor-killing medications more efficiently to patients. The researchers employed tiny self-propelled machines that could penetrate deeper into bladder cancer tumors when compared to current methods. The results could have a resounding effect on treatment moving forward. Here's everything you need to know.

一項新的研究探索使用奈米機器人更有效地向患者分發抗腫瘤藥物。研究人員使用了微型自走式機器，與目前的方法相比，它們可以更深入地滲透到膀胱癌腫瘤中。結果可能會對治療的進展產生巨大影響。這是您需要了解的一切。

Bladder Cancer

膀胱癌

Bladder cancer is one of the leading causes of death around the world. A recent study by the American Cancer Society projected around 82K people will be diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2023 alone. Of those diagnosed, around 16.5K will not survive the ordeal. As such, it's easy to see why there's considerable effort put towards helping to reduce the number of people who will be affected by bladder cancer in the coming years.

膀胱癌是世界各地導致死亡的主要原因之一。美國癌症協會最近的一項研究預計，光是 2023 年就有約 8.2 萬人被診斷出患有膀胱癌。在被診斷出的人中，約有 16,500 人無法渡過難關。因此，很容易理解為什麼要付出相當大的努力來幫助減少未來幾年受膀胱癌影響的人數。

The main causes of bladder cancer are smoking, workplace exposure to carcinogens, dietary factors, genes, diesel exhaust exposure, and radiotherapy. Notably, around 75% of confirmed bladder cancer tumors are non-muscle-invasive, meaning the cancer is located only on the inner layer of cells.

膀胱癌的主要原因是吸菸、工作場所接觸致癌物質、飲食因素、基因、柴油引擎廢氣接觸和放射治療。值得注意的是，大約 75% 已確診的膀胱癌腫瘤是非肌肉浸潤性的，這意味著癌症僅位於細胞內層。

Current Treatment

目前的治療

The current methods of treating bladder cancer are effective and not dangerous. However, they leave lots of room for improvement. The most common procedure involves administering drugs directly to the bladder. The problem with treating bladders versus other organs is that it's designed to flush out toxins with urine constantly.

目前治療膀胱癌的方法是有效且無危險的。然而，它們還有很大的進步空間。最常見的手術是將藥物直接注射到膀胱。與其他器官相比，治療膀胱的問題在於它的設計目的是不斷用尿液排出毒素。

This urine, coupled with sedimentation, results in a low therapeutic efficacy. Drugs can find it hard to fully diffuse in a urine-rich environment that is constantly swapping out fluids to remain clean. Additionally, it's difficult to get the medication in all corners of the bladder, which results in some cell layers being untreated.

這種尿液加上沉澱，導致治療效果低。藥物很難在富含尿液的環境中完全擴散，因為尿液會不斷交換液體以保持清潔。此外，藥物很難到達膀胱的各個角落，這導致一些細胞層無法治療。

These untreated cells can become future tumors and lead to the patient having to undergo multiple procedures and monitoring to ensure effectiveness for the following 5 years after treatment. Thankfully, researchers have put many years into figuring out the best way to deliver these life-giving drugs, and this latest development shows massive potential.

這些未經治療的細胞可能成為未來的腫瘤，導致患者必須接受多次手術和監測，以確保治療後 5 年內的有效性。值得慶幸的是，研究人員花了多年時間來尋找提供這些賦予生命的藥物的最佳方法，這一最新進展顯示出巨大的潛力。

Nanobots Study

奈米機器人研究

The study, “Urease-powered nanobots for radionuclide bladder cancer therapy,” was published in Nature Nanotechnology. In the paper, scientists discuss the use of radiolabeled mesoporous silica-based urease-powered nanobots to improve bladder cancer treatment procedures. Specifically, the engineers wanted to see how the nanoparticles penetrated the bladder walls and dispersed across the organs.

這項研究「脲酶驅動的奈米機器人用於放射性核素膀胱癌治療」發表在《自然奈米技術》上。在論文中，科學家討論了使用放射性標記的介孔二氧化矽基脲酶驅動的奈米機器人來改善膀胱癌的治療程序。具體來說，工程師們想了解奈米顆粒如何穿透膀胱壁並分散在器官中。

Source – Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and CIC biomaGUNE.

資料來源 – 加泰隆尼亞生物工程 (IBEC) 和 CIC biomaGUNE。

Nanomachines

奈米機器

The nanobots used in this experiment are shaped like porous spheres. They Are made of silica and are designed to self-propel when exposed to the protein urease, which is found in urine. The researchers monitored as the silica nanoparticles (MSNPs) moved about the organ, reaching the deepest corners. Specifically, the nanobots move using ammonia and CO2 created by the asymmetric decomposition of urease around the device.

本實驗所使用的奈米機器人形狀像多孔球體。它們由二氧化矽製成，設計為在暴露於尿液中的蛋白質脲酶時自行推進。研究人員監測了二氧化矽奈米顆粒（MSNP）在器官周圍移動並到達最深處的角落。具體來說，奈米機器人利用設備周圍脲酶不對稱分解產生的氨和二氧化碳來移動。

Test

測試

The testing phase involved two lab mice, vivo and ex vivo. Both mice suffered from bladder cancer tumors located deep within their organs. The researchers injected nanoparticles directly into the patients so the team could study the maneuverability of the nanoparticles and their accumulation within the organ. Notably, the mice were made to change position every 30 minutes to help facilitate equal dispersion across the organ. Here's what was learned.

測試階段涉及兩隻實驗室小鼠，體內和離體。兩隻小鼠都患有位於器官深處的膀胱癌腫瘤。研究人員將奈米顆粒直接注射到患者體內，這樣團隊就可以研究奈米顆粒的可操作性及其在器官內的累積。值得注意的是，小鼠每 30 分鐘改變一次位置，以幫助促進整個器官的均勻分散。這是學到的內容。

Murine Tests

小鼠測試

Murine tests were used to study the level of penetration achieved by the nanoparticles. To accomplish this task, the team used radio-iodinated nanobots. The team relied on the commonly used Iodine-131 and positron emission tomography (PET) imaging to see exactly what layers were treated.

小鼠測試用於研究奈米粒子所達到的滲透水平。為了完成這項任務，團隊使用了放射性碘奈米機器人。該團隊依靠常用的 Iodine-131 和正子斷層掃描 (PET) 成像來準確查看哪些層受到了處理。

Optical System

光學系統

The engineers created a new fluorescence microscopy system developed at IRB Barcelona. This new optical testing process provides an in-depth 3d model demonstrating penetration levels across the organ. Specifically, a system that used Label-free optical contrast based on polarization-dependent scattered light-sheet microscopy of cleared bladders made the process easier. It eliminated the light usually refracted by the liver, which made it much easier to confirm the nanoparticle's movement.

工程師在巴塞隆納 IRB 開發了一種新的螢光顯微鏡系統。這種新的光學測試過程提供了深入的 3D 模型，展示了整個器官的滲透程度。具體來說，使用基於偏振相關散射光片顯微鏡的無標記光學對比系統對透明膀胱進行了簡化。它消除了通常由肝臟折射的光線，這使得確認奈米顆粒的運動變得更加容易。

Results

結果

The test results were eye-opening. The new process was able to achieve far better dispersion and penetration versus traditional methods. Specifically, a single dose of urea-powered, radionuclide-carrying nanorobots successfully reduced the size of tumors in the test subjects by 90%. Interestingly, the team discovered that the nanobots were able to break down the wall of the bladder and the extracellular wall of the tumor by altering Ph levels.

測試結果令人大開眼界。與傳統方法相比，新製程能夠實現更好的分散和滲透。具體來說，單劑量的尿素驅動、攜帶放射性核種的奈米機器人成功地將測試對象的腫瘤大小縮小了 90%。有趣的是，研究團隊發現奈米機器人能夠透過改變 Ph 值水平來破壞膀胱壁和腫瘤的細胞外壁。

Benefits

好處

There are several benefits that the new bladder cancer study makes possible. For one, it shows enhanced diffusion and mixing capabilities. As such, it makes treatments more effective. The self-propelled nanobots can enter and spread across the bladder using urine as the catalyst, creating a more efficient approach.

新的膀胱癌研究有幾個好處。其一，它顯示出增強的擴散和混合能力。因此，它使治療更加有效。自驅動奈米機器人可以使用尿液作為催化劑進入並擴散到膀胱，從而創造出更有效的方法。

Pierce Tumor Wall

刺穿腫瘤壁

The new process sent nanobots colliding with the urothelium. In the past

新過程讓奈米機器人與尿路上皮發生碰撞。在過去