Researcher Bilgicer using nanotechnology to improve cancer treatment | News | Notre Dame News | University of Notre Dame Skip To Content Skip To Navigation Skip To Search University of Notre Dame Notre Dame News Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Home Contact Search Menu Home › News › Researcher Bilgicer using nanotechnology to improve cancer treatment Researcher Bilgicer using nanotechnology to improve cancer treatment Published: December 03, 2010 Author: William G. Gilroy Research directed by Basar Bilgicer, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and a member of the Advanced Diagnostics and Therapeutics initiative at the University of Notre Dame, could one day enable clinicians to deliver powerful chemotherapy drugs to tumors without deleterious side effects. Although chemotherapeutic agents are poisonous to tumors, they also can kill healthy cells, leading to toxic side effects. Bilgicer’s research involves developing drug- loaded nanoparticles to target the tumor tissue, so that the chemotherapeutic agents can be delivered specifically to the tumors rather than healthy tissue. His studies are based on the fact that nanoparticles accumulated in the tumor tissue, whose leaky blood vessels allowed the nanoparticles to pass out of the capillaries that feed the tumor. While the nanoparticles are small enough to penetrate the tumor tissue, they are too large to pass into other tissues in vital organs such as the kidneys, lungs, liver or spleen. Once the molecule is firmly lodged in the tumor, the higher acidity of the tumor environment causes the release of the chemotherapeutic load, thereby dumping its toxicity fully on cancerous tissues rather than traveling to healthy cells. Although Bilgicer’s studies have primarily been in blood cancers, he notes that the nanoparticles also have application in lung and breast cancers. The nanoparticles will require further development and clinical trials before they are ready for patient care. Bilgicer will be collaborating with Rudolph Navari, director of Notre Dame’s Walter Cancer Institute and assistant dean of the Indiana University School of Medicine South Bend, to study the compound’s possible uses in oncology treatment. Contact: Basar Bilgicer, 574-631-1429, bbilgicer@nd.edu Posted In: Research Home Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Related October 05, 2022 Astrophysicists find evidence for the presence of the first stars October 04, 2022 NIH awards $4 million grant to psychologists researching suicide prevention September 29, 2022 Notre Dame, Ukrainian Catholic University launch three new research grants September 27, 2022 Notre Dame, Trinity College Dublin engineers join to advance novel treatment for cystic fibrosis September 22, 2022 Climate-prepared countries are losing ground, latest ND-GAIN index shows For the Media Contact Office of Public Affairs and Communications Notre Dame News 500 Grace Hall Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Pinterest © 2022 University of Notre Dame Search Mobile App News Events Visit Accessibility Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn