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Leuk-alike
29 January 2013

Leuk-alike

Delivering drugs right to the heart of cancerous tumours is a challenging task. They must reach their dangerous target – which may be deep within tissues – without alerting immune cells that police the body for foreign invaders. Scientists are now tackling this predicament by camouflaging drugs in nanoparticles coated with membranes from leukocytes [white blood cells]. Unlike naked nanoparticles, these tiny disguised pouches raise no suspicion. And what’s more they behave like white blood cells, using their borrowed membranes en route to wriggle through barriers, such as blood vessels, as they home in on their target. Such coated particles, known as ‘leukolike vectors’ bring the prospect of more effective treatment for previously inaccessible cancers.

Written by Georgina Askeland

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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