Abu Dhabi researchers develop smart molecules to help detect, treat brain tumours

Among the biggest challenges in brain cancer treatment are finding the tumour clearly and getting medicine to reach it. Researchers in Abu Dhabi say they may have found a way to address both problems at once.

A team at New York University Abu Dhabi has developed smart molecules that made brain tumours visible on MRI scans while also helping destroy cancer cells in laboratory tests and animal studies. The findings were published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

The research focused on glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer. It is the most common malignant brain tumour in adults and remains difficult to treat because it grows quickly and spreads into nearby brain tissue. Survival is often around 12 to 18 months after diagnosis despite surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, according to widely cited medical studies.

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“Our goal was to create materials that allow doctors to see cancer clearly and treat it at the same time,” lead researcher Farah Benyettou told Khaleej Times. “The ability to image and target brain tumours with high precision is particularly exciting.”

The team said the molecules stay inactive in healthy tissue but switch on once they reach tumours, where the environment is slightly more acidic. When activated, they release manganese ions that improve MRI scan contrast, helping doctors see the tumour more clearly. At the same time, they trigger a therapeutic effect that damages cancer cells.

Another major hurdle in brain cancer treatment is the blood-brain barrier, the body’s natural defence system that blocks many drugs from reaching the brain.

The NYUAD Team said their molecules were able to cross that barrier and build up inside glioblastoma tumours, which could make future treatment more precise.

“What makes these molecules unique is not only that they do two jobs at once, but also how they are built, Unlike traditional drugs, which are usually small and simple in shape, these molecules have unusual interlocked structures that allow them to behave differently inside the body.” Benyettou said.

The work is still in the early stages and is not ready for hospital use. More safety testing, dose studies and larger trials will be needed before any human treatment can begin.“In our case, these structures showed strong imaging performance along with encouraging safety and clearance in preclinical studies,” Benyettou said.

Still, the findings add to the UAE’s growing medical research ambitions.

Abu Dhabi has increased investment in life sciences, genomics and advanced healthcare in recent years through institutions such as Department of Health Abu Dhabi, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, M42 and numerous university research centres.

“It is very meaningful to achieve this work from Abu Dhabi,” Benyettou said. “It shows the UAE can contribute at the highest level to solving global health challenges, especially in areas like precision medicine.”

If future trials succeed, doctors may one day be able to spot and fight certain tumors using the same tool.