Ian Bolland spoke to Professor Vassilis Inglezakis, one of the researchers at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan, which is investigating the use of advanced materials for biomedical applications, including cancer treatments.
Prof. Inglezakis explained that the methods the team are looking at focuses more on complementing existing treatments rather than replacing them.
He said: “We synthesise several kinds of materials suitable for medical applications and in one of most important projects funded by the European Commission we are particularly interested in the removal of certain toxins from the human body.
“The nanomaterials we are synthesising are based on activated carbons, cryogels and several natural materials.
“We’ll then process these materials to give them certain properties that are necessary for applications in the areas we are interested in.”
The university’s work is part of a Horizon 2020 project which sees them collaborate with 12 other European universities looking at nanomaterials in medical applications.
Professor Inglezakis’ team is also working with PhD student Zhannat Ashikbayeva and Professor Daniele Tosi on another relevant project, focusing on thermal ablation therapy which involves eliminating cancerous cells by applying heat. The chosen nanomaterial is applied to the cancerous cells which increases heat by absorbing infrared light, electromagnetic or radio frequency waves – allowing cancerous cells to be targeted without adversely affecting health cells.
It’s aimed to be more flexible, cheaper and minimally invasive, and is hoped to stimulate further research into nanomaterials into cancer treatments.
Explaining more about the materials that has been used in their research, Professor Inglezakis added:
“It’s well known that several of these (conventional) therapies are produced by products in the human body and our materials are to be used to remove these.
“The materials we are working with are materials that have been proven to be safe for human consumption, like natural zeolites.
“They already have a licence to be used as a food supplement, even as medicine within the European Union. For the materials that we are synthesising, before testing them for applications, the first thing we are doing is testing whether they are biocompatible, and that they don’t produce a secondary effect to the living organisms.”
Professor Inglezakis also underlined the support that Nazarbayev University provides to the researchers to allow them to be competitive and attractive to foreign universities to form collaborations, and the positive effect it could have for both the university and the country, as well as other researchers.
“Most of the colleagues in Europe probably don’t know that we have very good facilities here with all of the prerequisites to do high end research, including high-end equipment.
The university enjoys the support of the government for purchases of equipment and consumables and so on.”
