A domestic research team has developed a method to deliver anti-cancer medication to cancer cells.

The team, led by chemistry professor Kim Jong-seung from Korea University, announced on Wednesday that it has successfully synthesized a drug delivery substance which directs an anti-cancer drug to the cancer cells for cellular uptake.

The research team said that camptothecin (CPT), an anti-cancer drug, was delivered to the targeted cancer cells after it was combined with the drug delivery compounds, increasing the treatment’s effectiveness while reducing its side effects.

The team was also able monitor the drug’s delivery and absorption processes in the body by inserting fluorescent material into the drug delivery compounds.

The findings appeared in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.