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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Atlanta, GA | Posted: July 3, 2008
Nanocarrier-mediated chemotherapy has great promise in the treatment of cancer due to its ability to prolong the blood plasma half-life of the encapsulated chemotherapeutic and to selectively accumulate in tumors. However, in spite of important advances in the development of nano-chemotherapeutics, systemic chemotherapy is not the treatment of choice for malignant brain tumors, primarily due to the toxicity caused to non-tumor tissue. Therefore, novel techniques are required to understand and improve the drug availability at the tumor site while reducing harmful side effects. Nano-chemotherapeutics are able to accumulate at the tumor lesion due to the prolonged circulation of the nanocarrier and presence of abnormal leaky vasculature at the tumor site via the enhanced permeation and retention effect (EPR).