Molecular Engineering Feat by Indian Biologist Makes Cancer Treatment Safe
The most widely used chemotherapeutic drug Cisplatin has severe toxic effects on other organs of a cancer victim.The Indian biologist Shiladitya Sengupta has succeeded in warding off these effects to a significant by tweaking the molecular structure of this drug.This drug destroys tumour cells as well as healthy kidney cells.He and his colleagues have subsituted two molecular structures on the Cisplatin molecule with a synthetic molecule.A molecule larger than 5 nanometer- five billionths of a metre- ca not enter the kidneys. While Cisplatin is less than 5 nm, the Cisplatin-Polymer compound is larger,80nm to 100 nm and thus has no effect on the kidney.Hats off to him!