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Questions and Answers
What is a significant advantage of biological drugs in medicine?
Biological systems target the inside of cells primarily.
False
What groundbreaking future possibility is discussed regarding cancer treatment?
Using viruses to deliver cancer-seeking Sentinels.
The ability to deliver medicine inside cells may lead to destroying ____ and eliminating ____.
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Match the terms with their corresponding descriptions:
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What is a primary advantage of using biologics compared to small molecule drugs?
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Small molecule drugs can target 50% of the human genome effectively.
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What is the name of the biological therapy that blocks blood vessel growth in tumors?
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________ are capable of exploiting the cellular machinery to deliver their payload into cells.
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Match the following types of therapies with their characteristics:
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Study Notes
What is a Pandemic?
- A pandemic is when a virus sweeps the world, affecting many people
Why is getting medicines INTO cells difficult?
- Most medicines target the inside of cells, which are protected by cell membranes
- Small molecules can easily enter cells but only target 10% of the genome
- Biologicals can target more complex actions but are complex and fragile, so they can't easily enter cells
The Power of Small Molecules
- Small molecules are compounds with low molecular weight that can alter biological processes
- Examples: Aspirin, paracetamol, diphenhydramine
- Penicillin is a small molecule that inhibits bacteria from building a strong cell wall
- Small molecules have simple structures and can easily pass through cell membranes
The Power of Biologicals
- Biologicals are substances found in living organisms that target more complex cellular processes
- Examples: Sugars, proteins, nucleic acids
- Biologicals can target specific proteins on a cell membrane, delivering a payload only to that cell
- Bevacizumab is a biological therapy that blocks the production of the protein VEGF, which is required for tumor growth and blood vessel formation.
Limitations of Biologicals
- Many biological medicines get destroyed before reaching their target or are too large to pass through the cell membrane
- Increasing dosages can lead to side effects by increasing a drug's concentration above the therapeutic window
Nanorobots: The new frontier
- Viruses can naturally deliver payloads into cells
- The team at Nano Series is working on a system that harnesses a bacterial phage system to create virus-like particles that deliver payloads into cells
- This system is based on bacteria that produce viruses that carry toxins
- Bacteria can be used to produce the virus-like particles, facilitating a large-scale production at a lower cost
- The genetic code for the virus-like particles is contained in a plasmid, which can be easily edited to carry different therapeutic payloads
- The virus-like particles can be targeted to specific cells by modifying the binding arms.
Advantages of Nanorobots over other delivery systems
- Antibody conjugates are vulnerable to degradation in the environment
- Liposomes and exosomes lack inherent targeting capabilities
- The new system is designed to be a versatile solution for various therapeutic payloads
Potential drawbacks of Nanorobots
- The body's immune system might recognize the virus-like particles as foreign and attack them.
- Repeated treatments may be necessary because the virus-like particles don't replicate inside the body.
- Engineering the system to minimize immune responses is possible via genetic manipulation
The future of Nanorobots
- The nanorobots have only recently been funded and are in early development phases
- This technology is still in its early stages but has the potential to revolutionize medicine by creating a new generation of targeted and efficient therapies
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Description
This quiz explores the concepts of pandemics and the challenges of delivering medicines into cells. Learn about the differences between small molecules and biologicals, their structures, and how they impact health. Test your knowledge on these important topics in medicine and biology.
