Cells naturally send tiny packages to one another to share information. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a simple, low-cost way to turn those packages into drug carriers that can deliver treatments directly to cancer cells, potentially improving effectiveness while reducing side effects.

“Modern anticancer drugs are strong already. What we really need is precision. So, how do we deliver things to cells precisely? I believe that the best solution is the one that nature has already made for us,” said Christopher Blum, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Chemistry.

Blum developed a new platform that modifies naturally occurring cellular transport vesicles so they can deliver therapeutic cargo to specific cells while avoiding unintended targets. The research is published in ACS Applied Bio Materials.