Tag: hafnium oxide

Keeping an Eye on … Nanobiotix

French nanomedicine company Nanobiotix is featured in a one-page article by Susanne Kutter in this week’s Wirtschaftswoche. The article (not yet online) features the technology by Nanobiotix and its NBTXR3 compound which has been developed to enhance the local destruction of tumor mass during radiotherapy.

NBTXR3 is a nanoparticle consisting of hafnium oxide crystals. Once injected into the tumor, NBTXR3 accumulates in the cancer cells. Due to the physical properties of hafnium oxide, the particles emit huge amounts of electrons upon radiation. This leads to the formation of radicals within the tumor cell, which in turn damage the cancer cells and cause their targeted destruction. NBTXR3 particles are inert and emit electrons only during their exposure to radiotherapy. As a result, the destructive power of standard radiation therapy could be locally and selectively enhanced within the tumor cells.

In September, the company started a clinical trial of the compound which is regulated in the EU as a medical device.