Microorganisms are natural factories for all sorts of biomolecules, and some of them produce antibiotics that can be very useful in medical practice. This is not a newly discovered fact, but because each microorganism produces its own set of molecules and the rate of production is not very high, it’s been difficult to use this […]
Tag: Nanomedicine
Molecular Robots to Build Drug Molecules
Scientists in the UK have developed a microscopic molecular machine that can be used to assemble individual molecules. The technology could allow scientists to build drug molecules from scratch, as well as help with drug discovery. The molecular robots are only a millionth of a millimeter in size and each has a tiny robotic arm. […]
Acoustofluidics Pulls Exosomes from Whole Blood
Exosomes are tiny vesicles that are released by the body’s myriad of cells and that are found in blood, urine, and other bodily fluids. Their role within our bodies is still largely a mystery, but there’s already considerable evidence that they may be biomarkers of disease and indicators that certain processes are happening within the [ (Read more...)
Microneedle Patch Burns Fat Below Skin
Researchers in the US have developed a microneedle patch that can be applied to the skin and help to burn fat locally. The patch releases a drug that converts white fat to energy-burning brown fat, and could help to reduce “love handles”, and treat obesity and diabetes. Medgadget recently covered drug-loaded nanoparticles that (Read more...)
New Method Produces Precise Polymeric Nanoparticles for Clinical Applicability
While there are many types of drug ferrying nanoparticles already in existence and more under development, in order for them to be safe and effective in clinical practice they have to be uniformly manufacturable. Different sizes and shapes of nanoparticles can lead to inconsistent results. This can muddy studies and clinical results. Now researcher (Read more...)
New Way to Deliver Chemo Agent Helps Reach Brain Tumors
While there are fairly effective medications that can kill brain tumors, getting them to their targets is so challenging that they’re often next to useless for cancers of the brain. Japanese scientists from Kawasaki Institute of Industrial Promotion, The University of Tokyo, and Tokyo Institute of Technology have developed a shell for epirubi (Read more...)
Scientists Develop Cheap, Highly Sensitive and Accurate Test for Biomarkers
Scientists at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University and Boston Children’s Hospital have developed a cheap, sensitive, and highly accurate way of detecting protein biomarkers. The technology may very well revolutionize diagnostics, disease monitoring, and help stop the spread of infectious pathogens. The nanoswitch-linked immunosorbent (Read more...)
Quantum Dots Light Up Tumors Brighter Than Ever Before
Scientists at the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) in San Diego, California have devised a way to optically image tumors with unprecedented clarity using quantum dots. These nano structures are tiny particles, only a few nanometers wide, that generate light of a specific wavelength when they’re themselves stimulated by (Read more...)
Nanocages Made of DNA Strands Release Small Molecules to Improve Challenging Studies Inside Body
Many of the activities happening within our bodies are incredibly difficult to study, as some happen in hard to reach places and their timespan is very short. The action of neurosteroids, chemicals that perform an important role in the lives of neurons, is one such topic. Neurosteroids take less than a second to act, and getting anywhere (Read more...)
Nanoparticles to Deliver mRNA: Just Add Water
Scientists at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington have developed a nanoparticle messenger RNA (mRNA) delivery system to temporarily change gene expression in treated cells. Growing specific cell types in a lab and then administering them to patients is the goal of cell therapies, and these types of treatments are comin (Read more...)
Nanomachines to Drill Through Cell Membranes
An international team of scientists has developed tiny motorized molecules that can drill holes in cells membranes when stimulated by light. The nanomachines could be useful for drug delivery or directly killing cancer cells. The nanomotors are paddle-like chains of atoms, which spin up to 2–3 million times a second when supplied with energy (Read more...)
Drug Loaded Nanoparticles Turn Fat Cells Brown to Help Control Obesity
Brown fat cells are much easier for the body to burn than regular white lipocytes. Obese people with a particularly high ratio of white to brown fat cells can have a hard time losing weight even when while dieting and exercising. Nanotechnology may soon help people turn white fat into brown fat, turning a daunting challenge […]
Flexible Skin Worn Electricity Generator Powered by Sweat
Engineers at the University of California, San Diego have developed what they claim is by far the most powerful wearable fuel cells that run on sweat and produce enough electricity to energize small components such as LEDs and Bluetooth radios. The stretchable devices stick to the skin and conform to its movements, maintaining the ability to [ (Read more...)
Ultrasound and Microbubbles for Targeted Chemotherapy Delivery
Researchers in Norway have developed a chemotherapy delivery system consisting of microbubbles containing drug-loaded nanoparticles. When the researchers apply ultrasound to the microbubbles in a tumor, the microbubbles burst, releasing the nanoparticles and the chemotherapeutic drug. Researchers worldwide are trying to develop new ways to increase (Read more...)
Plasmonic Lasers Find, Destroy Circulating Tumor Cells to Prevent Metastasis
Though reasonably good techniques for ridding the body of primary tumors have been developed over the decades, preventing metastasis is still a major challenge. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) break off from established tumors and wonder off to start new mets in other parts of the body. To prevent CTCs from safely traveling through the blood [&helli (Read more...)
New Sugar Molecule Sticks to Tumors, Delivers Drugs
At the University of Würzburg in Germany scientists have developed a new sugar molecule that sticks to tumors and that may end up being used for early cancer detection and for killing of tumors. The molecule was created to target and bind with galectin-1, a protein that exists on all our healthy cells, but that is […]
Gold Nanostars and Immunotherapy Combined for a Cancer Vaccine
Researchers at Duke University have combined an FDA approved immunotherapy and a gold nanostar/laser treatment to completely eradicate tumors and vaccinate against the cancer. The team’s technique involves injecting gold nanoparticles into the bloodstream. These star-shaped nanoparticles (nanostars) can accumulate in tumors after circulating (Read more...)
Micromotors Powered by Stomach Acids Lower pH, Safely Release Antibiotics
Researchers at University of California San Diego have developed tiny micromotors that propel themselves around the stomach, neutralizing the acids within, eventually releasing a cargo of drugs once the pH is at a desired level. This approach can change how antibiotics and other pH sensitive drugs are delivered, as currently proton pump inhibitors (Read more...)
Silver Nanoparticle Coating and Tiny Electric Current Prevent Bacteria from Settling on Medical Devices
Silver ions and electric current are well known killers of bacteria that have been utilized to keep things clean in different scenarios for many years. Yet, their use is limited to only certain applications as a fairly high current or potentially toxic concentration of silver ions are needed to destroy bacterial buildup. At the Karolinska (Read more...)
Paper Test for Zika Powered by Gold Nanoparticles
Zika is often a silent disease that might not display any symptoms in infected persons, making screening particularly important. In the developing world, mobile testing systems that can be easily transported and used are not available, so sending a sample to a lab is still required to detect Zika infected individuals. Researchers at Washington Univ (Read more...)