A smart bandage that kills skin cancer cells with heat

Bengaluru-based researchers have developed a non-invasive bandage made of magnetic nanofibers which can safely treat skin cancer by applying heat to tumour cells.

The bandage was made by researchers from the Centre for BioSystems Science and Engineering (BSSE) and the Department of Molecular Reproduction, Development and Genetics (MRDG), at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc).

They blended magnetic nanoparticles made of an oxide or iron with a biodegradable polymer called polycaprolactone (PCL) pasted on a surgical tape. When this bandage is subjected to a high-frequency and oscillating magnetic field, its magnetic material heats up.

Shilpee Jain, senior author of the paper, and a DST-INSPIRE faculty fellow at BSSE when the study was conducted, explained: “The elevated temperature at the treatment site enables heat to penetrate the tumour cells, rupturing the compact [network of blood vessels] of the tumours.”

The theory is not new. This system of “magnetic hyperthermia” has emerged as a promising alternative to surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. But the method is known to cause burns, bleeding, swelling and even blood clots.

How would the IISc bandage work? The scientists tried them out on in-vitro human cancer cells and on mice with artificially-induced skin cancer.

In both experiments, the heat generated by applying an alternating current magnetic field to the bandage killed the cancer cells. “In the case of the [mice] experiment, the healthy tissue remained intact with no signs of burns, inflammation, or thickening,” the IISc said.

“Further studies are required to test the efficacy of this novel treatment method on a larger scale in rabbits, dogs and monkeys before employing it for pre-clinical and clinical applications,” Jain added.

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer and is caused primarily due to excessive exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun.

Melanoma develops from pigment-producing cells in the skin called melanocytes, and non-melanoma develops from other skin cells. Although non-melanoma skin cancer is more widespread, melanoma is malignant and has a higher mortality rate.