Post Surgery Cancer Treatment
In the past, there have been a few alternatives to suturing and tissue stapling for closing tissue surgically.
Clinically available alternatives include fibrin, glutaraldehyde, cyanoacrylate, and polyethylene glycol (PEG) hydrogel-based materials. Unfortunately, all four of these listed have presented issues in the field.
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Fibrin is expensive, complex to prepare, and can be a vector for disease.
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Glutaraldehyde is more cost effective, but can be toxic.
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Cyanoacrylate can also be toxic but has additional side effects such as inflammation associated with its rigidity.
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Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrogel-based is also reactive with tissue.
Recently, a new surgical sealant has been developed using solution blow spinning as a method for depositing polymer fibers of blow spun polymer (BSP). This sealant has been tested and was found to be an effective method in sealing gastrointestinal anastomosis. This technique is promising and can be used as a sealant and surgical tool for many other operations, particularly in relation to cancer treatment.
What are We Trying to Accomplish?
Currently, cancer treatment is not localized and highly variable. Despite occasional success, it is far from ideal and usually accompanied by long-term and frequently harmful side effects (NIH). In using delocalized treatment, it can be hard to target cancer stem cells, or CSCs. Broad spectrum chemotherapy should be a last resort, not the immediate solution to remove leftover cancer cells in the bloodstream. There is a need to develop a more effective and safer means of removing left over cancer cells after tumor removal.
The overarching research focus involves developing and testing variations of surgical sealants containing anticancer drugs and determining their effectiveness and efficiency in locally delivering these drugs to combat diseased cancer tissues. With the advances in drug-delivery methods gained through our research, others can research how to apply those same methods to illnesses other than cancer. In this way, our research not only has a specific impact on those affected by cancer but an even larger impact on people affected by illnesses that require specialized drug delivery.
The proposed research aims to expand upon the current technology of blow spun polymers. Our goal is to incorporate a targeted drug delivery aspect to the blow spun polymers. Thus the BSP can be used not only as a more effective surgical sealant, but it can also be used to administer medication directly to a targeted site after the surgery.
The aim of this research would be to determine which polymers are more effective in drug delivery, and ultimately to develop drug-loaded fiber mats to be used as a surgical sealant to treat diseased tissue. The research would also focus on modeling drug diffusion and controlled drug release. Finally, the efficacy of the developed product would be tested against cancer cells.
For Further Reading
For more information related to our research: