{"id":358400,"date":"2026-04-01T10:16:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T10:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/358400\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T10:16:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T10:16:10","slug":"first-of-a-kind-smart-drugs-help-fight-cancer-cells","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/358400\/","title":{"rendered":"First-of-a-kind \u2018smart\u2019 drugs help fight cancer cells"},"content":{"rendered":"

A team from the University of Geneva has designed a molecular system that distinguishes and neutralises cancer cells with unprecedented precision, paving the way for autonomous, self-regulating drugs.<\/p>\n

Using synthetic DNA strands, the smart system recognises cancer cells with exceptional precision and releases powerful drugs only where they are needed.<\/p>\n

Beyond cancer treatment, this research paves the way to \u201csmart\u201d medicines and programmable drug delivery.<\/p>\n

The corresponding article for the research<\/a> is published in Nature Biotechnology.<\/p>\n

Directly targeting cancer cells transforms therapy<\/p>\n

The ability to directly target tumour cells with drugs is transforming cancer therapy<\/a>, helping preserve healthy tissue and reducing the severe side effects associated with chemotherapy.<\/p>\n

Amongst the most promising approaches of recent decades are antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), which use monoclonal antibodies to deliver therapeutic agents precisely to cancer cells.<\/p>\n

Despite their remarkable success, ADCs still face significant limitations, including poor penetration into tumour tissue and limited capacity to carry drug payloads.<\/p>\n

DNA strands help overcome downfalls<\/p>\n

In this new system, independent DNA strands<\/a> carry distinct components, including two different cancer-targeting binders and a cytotoxic drug.<\/p>\n

When two specific cancer markers bind to their respective DNA-linked binders, the components self-assemble precisely at the tumour site.<\/p>\n

This assembly enables the delivery of higher drug concentrations, amplified by multiple DNA fragments snapping together where needed.<\/p>\n

Similar to two-factor authentication on a banking website, this process only occurs when both cancer markers are present. If either marker is missing, the hybridisation chain reaction cannot initiate, and the drug remains inactive.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis could mark an important step forward in the evolution of medicine, with the introduction of a self-operating drug system,\u201d explained Nicolas Winssinger, full professor in the Department of Organic Chemistry of the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, UNIGE.<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil now, computers and AI have helped us design new drugs. What\u2019s new here is that the drug itself can, in a simple way, \u2018compute\u2019 and respond intelligently to biological signals.\u201d<\/p>\n

The future of autonomous drugs<\/p>\n

Just as computers are built on simple logic operations, \u201cand\u201d, \u201cor\u201d, \u201cnot\u201d, this technology applies the same principle at the molecular level.<\/p>\n

In this first demonstration, an \u201cand\u201d logic gate ensures activation only when two cancer biomarkers are present, making the drug highly selective.<\/p>\n

In the future, future systems could integrate additional logic operations, creating medicines that behave like programmable systems and are capable of complex decision-making inside the body.<\/p>\n

This opens the door to truly \u201csmart\u201d drugs that adapt to their environment, tailoring treatment to each patient\u2019s unique physiology while minimising side effects.<\/p>\n

Rather than replacing human oversight, these innovations aim to make therapies more targeted and effective, offering new hope for personalised care and transforming the way we combat disease.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A team from the University of Geneva has designed a molecular system that distinguishes and neutralises cancer cells…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":358401,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[54348,134,13908,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-358400","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-diseases-and-conditions","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-health-technology","11":"tag-new-zealand","12":"tag-newzealand","13":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=358400"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358400\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/358401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=358400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=358400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=358400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}