Gold could be the key to better diagnosis and treatment of leukaemia

Nano-sized particles of gold could hold the key to the better diagnosis and treatment of leukaemia, thanks to ground-breaking research led by a University of Kent scientist.

The study, led by Dr Vadim Sumbayev, of the University’s Medway School of Pharmacy (MSP), shows that gold nanoparticles that are smaller than protein molecules can be used to either identify the abnormalities in blood cells that signify leukaemia or better deliver the drugs needed to fight the disease.

The findings, showing that gold nanoparticles can be used as drug delivery platforms, are highly significant since chemotherapy of leukaemia is often problematic as the drugs used are generally toxic and could kill other growing and quickly proliferating cells such as stem cells, thus affecting recovery.

The researchers found that gold nanoparticles demonstrated a ‘reasonable level of biocompatability’ as well as anti-inflammatory properties and an inability to affect cells on their own, making these materials an excellent drug delivery platform.

The targeted nano-carrier was able to deliver otherwise toxic drugs into leukaemia cells with a high degree of efficiency through the surface receptor Tim-3, which cells produce naturally upon malignant transformation.

Because this immune receptor Tim-3 is expressed by leukaemia cells that are malignantly transformed, compared to healthy leukocytes, it can be used as a receptor for targeted drug-delivery.

The study, entitled Highly specific targeting of human acute myeloid leukaemia cells using pharmacologically active nonoconjugates, (Dr Sumbayev, Inna M. Yasinska, Medway School of Pharmacy; et al), was published in Nanoscale, the Journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry. See: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29538473

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The Medway School of Pharmacy is a collaboration between the University of Kent and the University of Greenwich.

Established in 1965, the University of Kent – the UK’s European university – now has almost 20,000 students across campuses or study centres at Canterbury, Medway, Tonbridge, Brussels, Paris, Athens and Rome.

It has been ranked 22nd in the Guardian University Guide 2018 and 25th in the Complete University Guide 2018, and in June 2017 was awarded a gold rating, the highest, in the UK Government’s Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF).In the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2015-16, it is in the top 10% of the world’s leading universities for international outlook and 66th in its table of the most international universities in the world.

The THE also ranked the University as 20th in its ‘Table of Tables’ 2016.

Kent is ranked 17th in the UK for research intensity (REF 2014). It has world-leading research in all subjects and 97% of its research is deemed by the REF to be of international quality.

In the National Student Survey 2016, Kent achieved the fourth highest score for overall student satisfaction, out of all publicly funded, multi-faculty universities. Along with the universities of East Anglia and Essex, Kent is a member of the Eastern Arc Research Consortium (www.kent.ac.uk/about/partnerships/eastern-arc.html).

The University is worth £0.7 billion to the economy of the south east and supports more than 7,800 jobs in the region. Student off-campus spend contributes £293.3m and 2,532 full-time-equivalent jobs to those totals.

Kent has received two Queen’s Anniversary prizes for Higher and Further Education.