Armenia scientist studies ways to twice increase effect of antitumor medication

YEREVAN. - New zinc oxide composites of the antitumor drug doxorubicin can twice increase its effect with half the doses of the initial preparation in the composition.

Doctor of Phys&Math Sci, Head of the X-ray diffraction laboratory at the National Polytechnic University of Armenia (former State Engineering University of Armenia), Emma Rubenovna Arakelova, told the correspondent of Armenian News – NEWS.am. The work was carried out in the framework of Project (Development of Zinc Oxide Composites of Antitumor Drugs and Antitumor Compounds with High Antitumor Activity and Low Toxicity) of the International Science and Technology Center (ISTC) under the leadership of E.R.Arakelova. Research teams of three Armenian Organizations took part in the work: the National Polytechnic University of Armenia (NPUA), the Scientific and Technical Center of Organic and Pharmaceutical Chemistry of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia (STCOPC NAS RA) and the Institute of Molecular Biology of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia (IMB NAS RA)

To improve the drug, the team of researchers the NPUA leadership by Emma R. Arakelova obtained zinc oxide composites of the drug doxorubicin by DC magnetron deposition of nanosized ZnO films (180 nanometers thick) onto the surface of the original doxorubicin preparation.

In vitro studies of the zinc oxide compositions of the doxorubicin drug were carried out at the IMB NAS RA. In vivo studies were performed on living organisms (mice) with a tumor of Erlich carcinoma in the  STCOPC NAS RA.

During the tests, the mice, which were injected the zinc oxide composite medication, lived twice longer. In trials of mice injected with zinc oxide composites of doxorubicin the animals lived twice long with half the doses of the starting drug in the composition. “Apparently, the zinc oxide in the composite film helped the vector delivery to the tumor tissue. It is obvious that the smaller the dose of a drug, the less its side effect. But even at half the dose which was twice less, the drug with the film killed twice times as many cancer cells,”  explained E.R. Arakelova.

The zinc oxide composites of doxorubicin have been prepared and tested in the form of films and hydrogels. It is also planned to obtain the compositions of the preparation it in the form of lyophilized powder.

The studies were carried out with the financial support of the International Science and Technology Center. The results were presented at the technological exhibition “DigiTec Expo-2016” in Yerevan.