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One of the problems of cancer treatments is the lack of methods to differentiate between healthy and diseased cells, so that all are affected by the treatment. The research group of New Supramolecular Materials and Spectroscopy, Faculty of Science and Technology of the UPV / EHU is trying to resolve this problem by using smart nanohidrogeles (small particles capable of detecting diseased cells and release the drug only where it is necessary).

The hydrogels are polymers in the form of a network swollen by absorption but can not be dissolved in any liquid. Such polymers have very different applications. Are used to make artificial muscles for capturing heavy metal wastewater.

The research team Spectroscopy of New Materials and Supramolecular Chemistry Physics Department, Faculty of Science and Technology of the UPV / EHU is a pioneer in the investigation of the hydrogels and is headed by Dr. A. Issa Katim, author of the only book published in Spanish on the topic. Currently using hydrogels for controlled release of drugs, for example, in cancer patients. Their goal was to design a particle capable of detecting the location of the cancer. They have developed smart hydrogels capable of detecting changes in pH (blood has a pH of 7.4, but the area where the cancer is found at low pH 4,7-5,2). These hydrogels were functionalized with folic acid, which has the ability to detect cancer cells and deceived, so let you cross their membranes act as a "Trojan horse". Once inside the cell, change pH favors the swelling of nanohidrogel and thus the release of the drug.

But the problem was a known hydrogels for use in patients: their molecular size. The most effective way is to administer drugs through the blood as the blood reaches everywhere in no time, but you can not inject large molecules because they can clog the roads and cause problems in the body, such as angina chest, and even heart attacks. Is a prerequisite for use in humans that those particles are small enough not to clog arteries and veins and, moreover, can not be detected by white blood cells - in which case they would attack and provoke an increase in size, arise and the problem discussed above. If these particles are so small as to pass through the membrane of the kidney, if it does not detect cancer cells may be expelled through the urine.

The use of nanoparticles for this purpose has several difficulties: it must be controlled by intercrossing to create nanohidrogeles, voids created in the network structure must have the size needed to carry the drug, and all particles should have similar size .

Thus, the synthesized polymer particles are obtained from very different sizes. If they are injected into the human body, the particles can not depart much from 15-30 nanometers. Therefore, the team has developed a technique which allowed to obtain nanoparticles of similar sizes.

The design of such nanoparticles has been successfully concluded. Now the tests are being conducted "in vivo", in collaboration with research teams led by Dr. José María Teijón, professor of the Faculty of Medicine, Complutense University, and Dr. Antonio Quintana, professor of the Faculty of Medicine at the UPV / EHU.