CELL-TARGETED BINARY ANTICANCER AGENTS

A NOVEL METHOD FOR TARGETING CANCEROUS TISSUE USING NON-TOXIC COMPONENTS WILL BE DEVELOPED. A BINARY SYSTEM COMPRISED OF TWO CATALYTIC COMPONENTS WHICH ACT SYNERGISTICALLY IS TARGETED TO A DISEASED CELL. THE JUXTAPOSITION OF THESE COMPONENTS ON THE CELL SURFACE CAUSES THE PRODUCTION OF INTERMEDIATES WHICH WILL REACT IRREVERSIBLY WITH NEARBY BIOMOLOCULES, SUCH AS CELL MEMBRANE WALLS, TO DESTROY THE CELL. AS THIS SYSTEM IS BASED ON TWO CATALYTIC COMPONENTS, COMBINING A SMALL AMOUNT OF EACH COMPOUND WILL RESULT IN AN AMPLIFIED EFFECT IN THE MICROENVIRONMENT OF THE CANCEROUS TISSUE. MOREOVER, DELETERIOUS SIDE EFFECTS IN VIVO DUE TO HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF CHEMOTHERAPEUTIC AGENT WILL BE REDUCED. FINALLY, BOTH COMPONENTS ARE NON-TOXIC WHEN KEPT SEPARATE, THEREFORE ONLY THOSE TARGETED DISEASED CELLS WILL BE DESTROYED BY THE BINARY SYSTEM, THUS REDUCING DAMAGE TO HEALTHY TISSUE.