Cape Town - At the University of the Western Cape (UWC), cinnamon and herbs aren’t just used in the kitchen. They are also used to treat cancer.
“Professor Katti is taking materials that you find in the kitchen, making tiny particles, then using them to detect and treat cancer,” Dr Mervin Mayer, at UWC, said.
Professor Kattesh Katti is the lead researcher at UWC’s new research facility, the Green Nanotechnology Centre, launched on Monday. The centre is dedicated to researching environmentally friendly technology which can be used to diagnose and treat diseases as well as creating eco-friendly or “green” technologies.
“Nanotechnology is the manufacturing of tiny metallic materials or nanoparticles,” Mayer said. “These are smaller than the thickness of a hair.” Green nanotechnology refers to making such particles using environmentally friendly methods.
“With nanotechnology the matter you use is toxic, so the byproducts are very toxic as well,” Mayer said. “But with green nanotechnology you can make these tiny particles with materials you can find in the kitchen like cinnamon.”
Such technologies have been used to reduce the energy used in manufacturing processes, recycling products and creating eco-friendly materials.
Katti has successfully used the technology for the treatment of cancer in studies conducted at the University of Missouri, research he will continue at the new UWC centre. According to his speech at the launch, nanoparticles’ small size allows them to penetrate and destroy cancer tumours more effectively than current drugs.
“Approximately 60 percent of drugs go away from the tumour. Experiments showed that when nanoparticles were injected, approximately 88 percent stayed localised in the tumour,” he said.
In addition to developing new cancer treatments, the centre also aims to promote the development of environmentally friendly technologies and alternative energy.
According to UWC, the centre will research “green nanotechnologies with applications in medicine, energy and allied discipline”.
The potential products of this research include “smart electronic materials” and “environmentally benign breathing devices”.
The launch of the centre comes two weeks after the World Wide Nature Fund released its Global Clean Technology Innovation Index in which South Africa scored well below average, ranking 29 out of 40 countries. The index examines countries’ abilities to foster the development of environmental technology.
UWC deputy vice-chancellor Professor Ramesh Bhar-uthram said the establishment of the centre was “a calculated move towards becoming a research intensive university”.