In their gene therapy study, the researchers are creating “a kind of Trojan Horse” that can enter a cell and rectify what’s wrong at the DNA level, explains Ken Gonsalves a distinguished professor of polymer materials and organic chemistry at UNC-Charlotte.
“We’re actually correcting the machinery of the cell to make it function the way it should.” The application could be useful in treating muscular dystrophy and may play an important role in creating new tissues to replace ligaments, tendons, muscle, bone and even neurological tissue.
Another promising area of nanotechnology research at UNC Charlotte is photodynamic therapy for cancer treatment. An ultra-tiny “machine” goes to the tumorous cell site, enters it and generates energy inside the cell.
“The idea is a target bullet to go to the cell and create a burst of energy that destroys the cancerous cell but not the healthy cells surrounding it,” says Gonsalves, who was recruited to UNC Charlotte with the help of a $96,000 grant from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center in 2000.