title: Autonomous bacterial nanoswimmers target cancer.
abstract: Injectable drug delivery systems that autonomously detect, propel towards, and ultimately treat the cancerous tissue, are the future of targeted medicine. Here, we developed a drug delivery system that swims autonomously towards cancer cells, where it releases a therapeutic cargo. This platform is based on viable bacteria, loaded with nanoparticles that contain the chemotherapeutic-antibiotic drug doxorubicin. The bacteria ferry across media and invade the cancer cells, increasing their velocity in the presence of nutrients that are present within the tumor microenvironment. Inside the cancer cells, doxorubicin is released from the nanoparticles, destroying the bacterial swimmer (antibiotic activity) and executing the therapeutic activity against the cancer cells (chemotherapeutic activity). This mode of delivery, where both the carrier and the cancer cell are destroyed, supports implementing nanoswimmers in drug delivery (Fig. 1).
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel.
authors.forename: Nour
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zoaby
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel.
authors.forename: Janna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shainsky-Roitman
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel.
authors.forename: Samah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Badarneh
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel.
authors.forename: Hanan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Abumanhal
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel.
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leshansky
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel.
authors.forename: Sima
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yaron
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel. Electronic address: avids@technion.ac.il.
authors.forename: Avi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schroeder
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000903:Antibiotics, Antineoplastic / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000378:metabolism*; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D008081:Liposomes; D051379:Mice; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000903:Antibiotics, Antineoplastic; D004337:Drug Carriers; D008081:Liposomes; D004317:Doxorubicin
keywords: Autonomous swimmers; Bacteria; Cancer; Nanomedicine; Nanoparticle; Nanotechnology; Targeted drug delivery