Transforming the mysteries of the deep into the miracles of the marketplace
Ocean Discovery Could Revolutionize Modern Medicine
A novel new medical escort discovered by MARBIONC researchers at the University of North
Carolina Wilmington could revolutionize medical diagnosis and treatments for cancer, diabetes,
Alzheimer’s as well as other neurological diseases.
Escortin™ carriers – products discovered from
marine algae – are capable of “escorting” drugs and
medical diagnostics tools directly into affected cells,
which could result in entirely new research and
development studies for a variety of human diseases.
These naturally occurring products have the potential to
transform conventional cancer drugs by directly
escorting anti-cancer drug therapies into cancer cells.
Escortin™ carriers deliver anti-cancer drug
(shown in red) into human cancer cells.
Recent Escortin™ carrier studies show their potential as
a drug delivery system capable of carrying anti-cancer
drugs into affected cell within minutes post treatment, whereas conventional approaches may
take up to 24 hours to be detected. This extremely rapid and direct approach could reduce the
amount of medicine required to treat the disease, thereby decreasing adverse side effects.
Current medical research and drug discovery is limited by the inability of most diagnostic tools
to penetrate a cell’s membrane to study the inner-workings of a cell. Escortin™ carriers have a
unique characteristic in their ability to rapidly move across cell membranes, allowing transport
of important bioactive molecules used to study the basis of many human diseases.
Escortin™ carriers have the potential to greatly enhance research on Alzheimer’s, brain cancer
as well as many other neurological disorders by broadening the chemicals capable of being
transported across the blood-brain barrier.
Marine Biotechnology in North Carolina is an R&D-based economic development program that
discovers, develops and markets new products and technologies derived from the sea. MARBIONC is at
the forefront of marine biotechnology research and development on marine natural products and
researchers are uncovering their potential to treat or cure a variety of human diseases.
For more information, visit: www.uncw.edu/MARBIONC