About This Project

The problem with cancer drugs today is they harm both normal and cancer cells. I've designed a drug that specifically inhibits F1F0 ATP hydrolysis, an enzyme operating mode that cancer cells rely on to survive, that normal cells do not rely on. My hypothesis is that that when treated with my drug, cancer cells will die while normal cells will survive. To test my hypothesis, the drug will be manufactured and tested at the National Cancer Institute.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

The problem with today's cancer drugs is they harm both cancer and normal cells. I was inspired to design a drug that specifically inhibits F1F0 ATP hydrolysis because I've shown prior and previously that this is an enzyme operating mode that cancer cells specifically rely on to survive and multiply, which normal cells don't rely on. I hypothesize that when treated with my drug, cancer cells will die while normal cells will be unaffected. To test this, I will manufacture my drug through Wuxi Apptec and send the drug to the National Cancer Institute to test against 59 different cancer cell lines from 9 different tissues. If successful, the drug will show the ability to slow the proliferation of cancer. Further detail on NCI testing is here.

What is the significance of this project?

If my drug that specifically inhibits F1F0 ATP hydrolysis can kill cancer cells while keeping normal cells unharmed, this drug could advance as a new cancer drug candidate. The holy grail of cancer treatments is a drug that can kill cancer cells while having no effect on normal cells. Research shows that, presently, it is the cancer drug itself that kills some cancer patients. My newly designed drug offers an opportunity to selectively kill cancer cells.

What are the goals of the project?

I hypothesize that this drug that specifically inhibits F1F0 ATP hydrolysis will be able to kill cancer cells while leaving normal cells unharmed. To test this, my drug will be synthesized by the chemical synthesis company Wuxi Apptec. Once synthesized, the drug will be sent to National Cancer Institute to test its anti-cancer activity. The results of the testing will be shared in an open access peer-reviewed journal and sent to backers. Backers will be acknowledged by name in this article.