UCF’s Sudipta Seal is collaborating with Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center by providing a key component for a medicine that targets the most common type of pediatric brain tumor. Seal created a solution containing therapeutic cerium oxide nanoparticles that acts as a protective vehicle to deliver a combination of cancer therapies through the body and to the patient’s brain.

“We can attach various drugs to the nanoparticles and deliver them to a specific site,” says Seal. “The medication on its own already has its own applications, so when you combine them, their role in intervention becomes quite significant.” The RNA-targeting therapy inhibited tumor growth in mice by 40-50%. It may also have fewer side effects than the current therapy of craniospinal irradiation.

• Sudipta Seal