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Article: Boron Carbide Targets Brain Cancer.
- Article from:
- Nanoparticle News
- Article date:
- April 1, 2006
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 BCC Research. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT), an experimental therapy for treating brain cancer, could get a boost following the recent development of boron carbide nanoparticles that can be targeted for uptake by cancer cells. These nanoparticles could provide a much needed method for increasing the amount of boron that gets into tumor cells rather than remaining in circulation.
BNCT developed in the 1950s and 1960s, involves first administering a boron-containing compound and then irradiating tumors, in which the boron compound has presumably become concentrated, with high energy neutrons from a small nuclear reactor. Boron atoms absorb neutrons efficiently and then ...