Now, 'Trojan horse' to attack cancer

London, August 19 (ANI): Scientists have found a way to attack cancer cells that are resistant to chemotherapy - by hiding drugs inside folded-up DNA like The Trojan Horse that allowed the Greeks to finally enter the city of Troy and end the conflict.

DNA origami involves folding a single strand of DNA into a complex pattern, creating a 3D structure.

In their study, Baoquan Ding at the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology in Beijing, China, and colleagues loaded a tubular piece of folded DNA with doxorubicin, a chemotherapy drug.

"This is the first study to demonstrate that DNA origami can be used to circumvent drug resistance," New Scientist quoted Hao Yan at Arizona State University in Tempe, who jointly led the work, as saying.

In doing so, Yan explained, cancer cells might not recognise the DNA origami as a threat in the way that free doxorubicin is.

The folded DNA might also alter the pH inside the cells, increasing the drug's activity. (ANI)