Marie Curie Actions: Inspiring Researchers - Imdea

e chemically modifi ed to further enhance effectiveness. Forinstance, it can be made more – or less – soluble, so that adrug contained could be released rapidly or slowly, at the sametime maintaining the initial physical and chemical properties ofthe encapsulated material.Advances in production methods are making carbon nanotubesmore viable every day. Some of these advances have been madein the framework of the Carbio project, improving the productionprocess as well as reaching an unprecedented degree of purity inthe tubes. The team has also already tested the containers withvarious ‘fi llings’. Results so far are encouraging: no signifi canttoxic effects have been identifi ed.The Carbio researchers specifi cally studied the all-importanttransfer of CNTs into cells and the release of drugs in cellculture experiments. They attained one particularly signifi cantmilestone when they developed a method to use CNTs forthe transport and release of the anti-cancer drugs carboplatinand doxorubicin. Both are used in chemotherapy for a widerange of cancers and commonly cause nausea, vomiting andheart arrhythmias.But Carbio’s ambitions go further: the Fellows are also looking intothe potential of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and CNTs incancer treatment. And they have developed a nanothermometer.This ingenious device can help monitor the temperature intumour cells during hyperthermia therapy, a therapeutic methodthat aims to weaken or destroy the malignant cells with intenseheat. The team is already working on enhancing it further,and additional investigations will improve the accuracy of thetemperature sensors.Laying the foundationsAs work on the project itself continues, the fruitful Carbiocollaboration has already led to over 10 related projectproposals, both on a national and European level. And theoriginal partners are hoping to receive further funding underthe EU’s Seventh Framework Programme in order to keepup the momentum of this ground-breaking research. Severalpatents are also pending, on Particles for determining the localtemperature, for example.22