INDONESIAN SCIENTISTS INVENTED NANO-CANCER THERAPY

Airlanga University’s research team develops nano-technology cancer therapy. Its outcome is more effective, also much cheaper twentieth time as much than foreign medicine.
It is not futile that Andi Hamim Zaidan and his ten other colleagues spent 2 years on research at Airlangga University’s Photon Laboratory, Surabaya. Their research comes out with good results. They succeed in producing prototype of gold nano-particle in 20 and 30 nanometer. Particle in super mini can penetrate into human body, then find and destroy cancer cells.
For selecting cancer cell, said Zaidin Gold Nano-Particle is equipped with smart censor made of antigen polyetilenglycol (PEG). After locking location of cancer cell, the body gets rayed with Photo Thermal Therapy (PTT). Process of electromagnetic wave radiation (commonly using infra red rays) changes light into heat that can terminate cancer cells.
“At this moment, GNP prototype is not equipped with a smart censor as it must undergo characterization in its optic and thermal nature first,” said Dean, Faculty of Science and Technology of Airlangga University, Surabaya.
At the stage of characterization, his side has to cooperate with Physic Optic Laboratory of Airlangga University, as Electron Microscope is required (SEM and TEMP type). This equipment is overly rare in Indonesia.
After the stage of characterization, the research enters experiment therapy in vitro, by cultivating cancer cells out of host. Then, GNP is tested on animal before testing it on human body. At in-vitro and in vivo stage, Zaidan will cooperate with his colleagues in Medical Faculty of Airlangga University.
If it is used as cancer therapy, Zaidan added, the gold particle is better round or in bar. The maximum size is 50 nanometer, so it can freely penetrate into cells. The target of their research is synthesizing GNP with small diameter, i.e. 15 nanometer.
The research of GNP as an instrument of cancer therapy is not the first thing to do. Scores of countries has conducted this since several years ago. However, according Zaidan, his research is different from the side of development of theory and method of synthesis. At the stage of theory, they develop PTT model using GNP and complete carbon nano tube (CNB), starting from simulation of photon to dosimetri therapy.
Dosimetri GNP means the determination of way of ray exposure, duration, power, electromagnetic radiation wave length. Model of PTT is related to photodynamic therapy (PDT). The difference is that PTT does not require oxygen for integration with cell or target network.
PTT can use light with less-energetic wave length so not overly dangerous for cell and other network. “There is no yet a complete theory for this, not to mention on the use of CNT,” said he.
The new other thing from Zaidan’s research team is not synthesizing of GNP with chemical reaction as commonly used in foreign researches. The reason is that the frozen material for synthesis using chemical reaction is overly expensive and must be imported. He exemplifies he finds a material which cost at Rp 3 million a gram.
Therefore, Zaidan’s team searched for local material as a means of synthesis. The new synthesis model is easier and cheaper, without diminishing the level of accuracy and it minimizes side effect.
In comparison, if using imported material, GNP production requires US$ 250 up to US$ 500 per millimeter. If using local material, its production cost is merely at Rp 25,000 per millimeter or 20th time as much cheaper. “So, my prediction, if our research is already accomplished and can be applied, the cost remains at Rp 50,000 , he said. Apart from developing GNP as a means of cancer therapy, Zaidan’s team is also developing CNT as an agent of selective cancer therapy and diagnosis. For diagnosis they try to make contrast agent for Magnetic Resonance Imaging and biomarker.
Now the research of CNT has just accomplished at the stage of theory and model. While one step behind GNP is experiment, it has entered the stage of experiment.