University of Leeds scientists develop nanosurgical tool to combat cancer

New Delhi: Scientists from the University of Leeds have developed an innovative nanosurgical tool that could revolutionize cancer treatment by providing new insights into how cancer cells resist treatment. This device, a high-tech double-barrel nanopipette, is about 500 times thinner than a human hair and has the potential to dramatically enhance the understanding of cancer cell behavior during treatment, potentially leading to the development of more effective cancer therapies.

The nanopipette features two nanoscopic needles that allow for the simultaneous injection and extraction of material from the same cell, enabling researchers to observe how individual cancer cells react to treatment over time. This technology addresses a critical limitation of current techniques, which often destroy cells during study. The new tool allows for repeated “biopsies” of living cells, providing unprecedented insights into cellular changes as they occur.

Dr. Lucy Stead, Associate Professor of Brain Cancer Biology at the University of Leeds’ School of Medicine and a corresponding author of the study, highlighted, “This type of technology is going to provide a layer of understanding that we have simply never had before. And that new understanding and insight will lead to new weapons in our armoury against all types of cancer.”

The study, published in the journal Science Advances, focused on glioblastoma (GBM), the deadliest form of brain tumor. GBM is known for its ability to adapt to treatment, making it difficult to eradicate. Researchers used the nanosurgical tool to study cancer cells’ resistance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, revealing how these cells survive and evolve during treatment. The findings could help scientists map the journey of these cells and discover ways to stop them at critical points.

Dr. Stead, who leads the Glioma Genomics research group at the Leeds Institute of Medical Research at St. James’s Hospital, emphasized that this technology could be transformative for GBM research. “This technology could be transformative for this particular cancer, helping us finally identify effective treatments for this awful, incurable disease,” she said.

The research was funded primarily by The Brain Tumour Charity, which has been actively supporting efforts to improve treatment outcomes for brain cancer patients. Dr. Simon Newman, Chief Scientific Officer at The Brain Tumour Charity, expressed optimism about the potential impact of this novel technology on cancer research and treatment: “We hope that this important work will improve our knowledge of these complex brain tumours and allow us to find new, more effective treatments.”

The nanosurgical platform was developed through a collaboration between scientists from the University of Leeds’ Bragg Centre for Materials Research, School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Leeds Institute of Medical Research, and the Earlham Institute in Norwich, who studied single GBM cells for 72 hours. The device is too small to be manipulated by hand, so robotic software precisely controls its movement, and manoeuvres them into position, into the cells in the petri dish allowing for repeated sampling and observation of individual cells over time.

Dr. Fabio Marcuccio, a lead author and Research Associate at Imperial College London who conducted the research while at Leeds, highlighted the tool’s potential: “This tool will provide data that could lead to significant improvements in cancer treatment and prognoses.” He credited the interdisciplinary team’s collaboration for the project’s success.

Cancer cell plasticity—the ability of cancer cells to change their behavior and develop resistance to treatment—remains one of the biggest challenges in cancer research. The new tool’s ability to study these changes in real time could pave the way for new, more effective therapies that prevent cancer recurrence.

The research has already yielded valuable insights, and further studies are planned to explore its applications in other types of cancer. Additional funding for the research was provided by UK Research and Innovation and the European Commission.