Our Science and Select Publications

Our cerium oxide nanoparticles are designed to eliminate radiation-induced charged particles that damage the DNA of cells which may be key to preventing side effects of radiation therapy and improve patient outcomes.

The production of free radicals also known as Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) from radiation is a critical function for how radiation damages the DNA of cells of the tissue it passes through.

While cells possess their own repair mechanisms to prevent DNA damage when encountering ROS, BioCurity is focused on reducing the excessive levels of ROS produced during radiation therapy selectively in normal cells, which we have demonstrated in our preclinical studies.

An example of our preclinical studies, as depicted on the graph on the left, show that our cerium oxide nanoparticles significantly reduce the levels of ROS in normal lung cells and not in lung cancer cells when exposed to radiation.

We are evaluating the correlation of reducing ROS in normal tissue to the prevention of radiation-induced side effects, which we have demonstrated in our preclinical studies.

Selectively Protecting Normal Tissue from Radiation Damage

Radiation-induced normal tissue damage (RINTD) frequently has a significant influence on the progress of radiation therapy and the survival and prognosis of cancer patients. As shown on the schematic on the left, ROS is one of the main sources of RINTD.

Cancer patient side effects primarily caused by RINTD include the inability to eat or swallow, scarring of the lungs, burning and blistering and permanent scarring of the skin. In severe cases, a feeding tube may be required for head and neck cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy.

A cancer patient with clinical signs of radiation therapy damage to the skin is shown on the left figure.

The ability of a drug to selectively remove ROS and other biological molecules that may induce damage caused by ROS from normal cells without interfering with the effectiveness of radiation on the cancer cells is essential. The stability and persistent protective effects is also critical. We have designed our cerium oxide nanoparticles with these features.

The Company believes its cerium oxide nanoparticles deliver beneficial effect by accelerating the breakdown of radiation-induced ROS selectively in normal cells.

Our preclinical studies as shown as an example on the left graph, have provided further evidence that our cerium oxide nanoparticles are safe and well tolerated, and support that the stability of cerium oxide nanoparticles will result in the persistence of their protective effects for extended periods of time.

In our preclinical studies our IV and topical drugs developed from cerium oxide nanoparticle technology significantly reduce the short and long term damage to normal tissue in models of breast, lung, head and neck, prostate, pancreatic and colorectal cancer. Our positive preclinical data suggest the potential use of our drugs in multiple types of cancers where radiation therapy is a commonly used as a therapeutic modality.

For example, as shown on the left graph our IV formulation prevents radiation-induced pneumonitis in a small animal lung model. 

Additional preclinical studies as shown on the left graph, provide supporting evidence that our topical formulation reduces radiation skin damage in a small animal model.

Tumkur, Prathima et al. "Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles: Synthesis and Characterization for Biosafe Applications." Nanomanufacturing. (2021).

Song, Guangchun et al. "Nanoscale Cerium Oxide: Synthesis, Biocatalytic Mechanism, and Applications.” Catalysts. (2021).

Ouyang, Zi et al. “Potential of using cerium oxide nanoparticles for protecting healthy tissue during accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI).” Physica medica. (2016).

Manon, Rafael et al. “Harnessing Nanoparticles to Improve Toxicity after Head and Neck Radiation.” Nanomedicine. (2012).

Kuchma Melissa, et al. “Phosphate ester hydrolysis of biologically relevant molecules by cerium oxide nanoparticles.” Nanomedicine. (2010).

Colon, Jimmy et al. “Protection from radiation-induced pneumonitis using cerium oxide nanoparticles.” Nanomedicine. (2009).