It may seem far-fetched, but could also be the most Aussie way ever to treat cancer.
Scientists at the University of South Australia have been using Thunderstruck by AC/DC to adapt the way a chemotherapy-related drug called Campthothecin is delivered to patients.
Researchers from the Uni found that vibrations from rock music can cause particles carrying the drug to bounce, resulting in a thin polymer coating that prevents the drug from escaping whilst being administered, improving delivery direct to cancer cells.
The paper on the research itself is titled ‘Thunderstruck: Plasma-Polymer-Coated Porous Silicon Microparticles As a Controlled Drug Delivery System.’
In an interview with The Lead, Professor Nico Voelcker explained: “The micro particles are porous, basically they are like a sponge. You fill them up with a drug, but of course you want to prevent the drug from escaping, and that is why we create the coating.
“Normally we would ignite a plasma onto the surface. The problem with doing that is you only form the coating on one side of the particle, the side that is exposed. But the side of the particle on the surface, the other side, is not going to get coated.” Professor Voelcker said.
“That is where we came up with the idea of using a loud speaker that we would play into the system. We would turn that loudspeaker to a song that it would vibrate and the particles would bounce up and down. The chaotic frequencies worked well and gave you a more homogenous coating.”
He went in to explain that Thunderstruck in particular worked well when compared with other rock songs, and that the the same process could conceivably be used to deliver other anti-inflammatory or anti-biotic drugs.
“We used a cold plasma, but an example of a hot plasma would be the rays of thunder. We ended up using Thunderstruck,” he said. “We might end up using different types of drugs; we might use drugs that are anti-inflammatory or antibiotic. It was just one model application for us.”
AC/DC are still yet to announce a replacement for long-time singer Brian Johnson, who has been advised to stop touring immediately as a result of suffering severe hearing loss.
Watch: AC/DC – Thunderstruck
