Mthunzi's work involves using tiny lasers as a form of
microscopic “tweezers" to manipulate cells and has now found a way to possibly use these lasers to aid in HIV treatment.
Conventionally, HIV is treated with
oral medication. This medication lowers the virus in the blood and increases
CD4 counts but at the same time has bad side effects. Mthunzie attributes
these adverse effects to the fact that oral medication is greatly diluted by
the time it actually reaches the bloodstream and even further so by the time it
reaches HIV hot spots in the body.
Mthunzi’s pioneer idea is this: Can we
deliver anti-HIV medications directly into these HIV hot spots without risking
dilution? Her answer is yes, using tiny lasers.
Now, this is where it gets cool. Mthunzi and her team are already experimenting on targeting a very powerful (but super
tiny) laser beam into the membranes of HIV-infected cells, poking little holes.
These holes open and close almost immediately. This is done while the cells are
immersed in a liquid containing the anti-HIV drug so that the drug gets
delivered into the cell while the tiny hole is open (in a matter of micro
seconds) and after which, the hole repairs itself immediately.
This technology has only been tested in
petri dishes and not in the human body. I was thoroughly confused as to how
exactly one would immerse these cells in the drug but Mthunzie had a solution
to that also. She proposes the idea of a three-headed device, which would
include a tiny camera, a laser, and a “drug sprinkler.” So the idea is that
this device would go inside these HIV hotspots and flood the areas with the
drug. Then, the laser would perforate the membranes of the infected cells to
allow drug delivery.
Now of course, there are many questions
still unanswered about this process such as how would these cells be targeted in
the body and what about infected cells not in these hot-spots? It's truly incredible but it has a long way to go.
This is amazing ground-breaking technology and an incredible
way to help move towards eradicating HIV. Who knew that one day we would
actually be using tiny light sabers to cut open enemy human cells? Thanks G. Lucus.
Listen to the TedTalk here: https://www.ted.com/talks/patience_mthunzi_could_we_cure_hiv_with_lasers/transcript?language=en
This slightly reminds me of the research I did during undergrad. When working with vitamin deficiency, one of the biggest problems faced is that oral medication, often, does not make it through the digestive tract without being at least partially destroyed or having the chemical composition altered in some way. We were studying the use of ionic liquids in order to transport nutrients but lasers sound much cooler! I am curious if you know how the holes repair themselves, or more so how they do it so quickly?
ReplyDeleteSO COOL! I find the use of lasers in medicine to be very interesting. I recently read another article that referred to laser treatments when formulating an attack against bacterial and viral invaders. This laser (infrared femtosecond) however used variations in wavelength to destroy the invading microorganisms. Researchers have found that certain wavelengths can be used to destroy these cells without effecting normal, healthy cells. So far, this form of laser treatment has not been used to treat HIV, but has been successful in treating a number of common invaders. Both techniques are experimental at this time (no human trials), but it's obvious laser technology in medicine is a on the rise!
ReplyDeleteSource: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7071750.stm
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ReplyDeleteI was also reading a study done with lasers in relation to HIV although this study suggested that using infrared lasers at a specific wavelength would kill selected cells without harming others. Instead of using the three-headed device that includes a “drug sprinkler” this method produces lethal vibrations in the protein coat of the selected cell which destroys them. This method is being suggested to be used to not only combat HIV but also some types of skin cancers as well as hepatitis. These lethal vibrations can therefore disinfect blood and help to treat blood-borne diseases. Scientists believe that they are able to differentiate between virus vs normal cell because of different structural components in the protein coat. They are also suggesting that this technique can also be used to to reduce MRSA and other types of infectious diseases.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that two different methods are being proposed in regards to treat HIV and both involve lasers are really indicates that this is the way of the future and I agree with April that this is where the technology is heading! With more investigations being done they can expand on this idea and hopefully implement this on human subjects.
Source:
http://www.gizmag.com/lasers-to-combat-aids/8304/