A collaborative team of researchers from the Department of Chemistry at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the Vancouver Prostate Centre (VPC) have developed a new method to design safer, more targeted cancer drugs. The platform, called baited-SELEX, uses DNA molecules to mimic antibodies and selectively target cancer cells while minimizing harmful side effects of current therapies.
Published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the study introduces a breakthrough approach for developing DNA-based therapeutics that could extend beyond prostate cancer to other forms of targeted radiotherapy and molecular treatments.
Co-led by Dr. David Perrin, professor in the UBC Department of Chemistry, and the research team at the Vancouver Prostate Centre led by Dr. Larry Goldenberg, the study developed a first-of-its-kind system for evolving DNA aptamers — short DNA strands that bind tightly and specifically to disease-related targets.
