In the development of new drugs, taking something from nature and modifying it has been a successful tactic employed by medicinal chemists for years. Now, with the help of nanotechnology, researchers are turning once-discarded drug candidates into usable drugs.

An estimated 40% of clinical approved drugs fall into the category where either the natural compound itself or a modified version is the approved drug. These include statins (found in bacterial secretions) used to lower cholesterol, quinines (found in cinchona trees) as anti-malarials and paclitaxel (found in yew trees) as anti-cancer medication.

Many of these natural products are toxins produced by plants or animals as a form of defence. And scorpion venom has been gaining interest as a source of new drugs. It contains a mixture of biological chemicals called peptides, some of which are known to trigger cell death by forming pores in biological membranes. Cell death can be useful if we are able to target, say, tumour cells to auto-destruct.

These toxins can have very potent effects. For instance, one particular small peptide, known as TsAP-1, isolated from the Brazilian yellow scorpion (Tityus serrulatus), has both anti- microbial a And anti cancer properties 

However, harnessing this kind of power for clinical good has so far been challenging because these toxins kill both tumours and healthy cells. One method to control such toxicity is through using nanotechnology to build specific anti drug delivery vehicles  If successful, the toxic drug is released to kill only unwanted tissues in a body.