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iCONM Public Lecture "Frontiers of Nanomachine Research" was held on 11/11.
On November 11 (Sat.), a public lecture was held online. Dr. Hiroaki Kino, Principal Scientist of iCONM, introduced his research on overcoming the "cancer microenvironment," which is now indispensable in the fight against intractable cancer. He also introduced a case in which chemoimmunotherapy was successful in animal experiments on a malignant brain tumor as an intractable cancer that immune cells could not penetrate.
Visiting Scientist Kanjiro Miyata (Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo) explained in an easy-to-understand animation how basic amino acid polymers (positively charged) with two polyethylene glycol chains successfully associate with negatively charged nucleic acids in a dynamic equilibrium to form an unit polyion complex (uPIC) with a stable tetrahedral structure.
The uPIC is 15 nm in size, resists renal excretion (<10 nm), and can penetrate fibrous tissue, which is often an obstacle to drug delivery, making it promising for future applications. In addition, Dr. Nobuhiro Nishiyama (Professor, Tokyo Institute of Technology) introduced "surgery without cutting," in which a very small amount of anticancer drug, which is neither a drug nor harmful as it is, can be delivered to the affected area and applied with ultrasound to induce necrosis in that area alone.
Overall, participants commented that the lecture was somewhat difficult, but they were able to realize the progress of nano-medicine, that they were able to listen to lectures by professors who are active in the forefront of cutting-edge research, and that the lecture was interesting to a wide range of people, from those who were new to the field to those who are familiar with it.
We will continue to plan public lectures for the public in the future.
