One property of tumour cells is that they tend to be slightly acidic compared to the rest of the body. This has given Jean Frechet and colleagues at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, US, an idea for a new kind of drug delivery system.Most materials for drug delivery systems are based on polyesters that gradually break down inside the body, releasing the drug they hold slowly and consistently over time. Instead, Frechet and colleagues has designed a polymer that is synthesized using monomers with bonds that are acid-degradable.
At the body's normal pH, the polymer is stable. But in mildly acidic conditions, like those found in tumours, the drug-carrying polymer breaks down releasing its load into the surrounding tissue.
Read the full acid degradable drug delivery system patent application.
Justin Mullins, New Scientist contributor