Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are widely studied for their applications in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. hPSCs have the potential to self-renew and differentiate into a wide variety of specialized cells, processes that are heavily influenced by the extracellular microenvironment. Traditionally, hPSCs are grown in a two-dimens (Read more...)
Tag: Nanomedicine
Japanese Researchers Develop New Filter to Use microRNA as Disease Biomarker
Cancers tend to produce microRNA molecules that are present in whole blood and, if isolated and sequenced, can serve as excellent biomarkers for the presence of cancer. Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan have come up with a device that can rapidly separate microRNAs from a mixture of RNA and DNA, opening the door for […]
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World’s Smallest Jet Engine to Power Tiny Medical Devices
Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart, Germany and Harbin Institute of Technology in Shenzhen, China have come up with a tiny self-powered propulsion system for devices small enough to move through various vessels inside our bodies. The technique does not generate any bubbles to push microscopic objects, b (Read more...)
Graphene-Coated Contact Lenses Block Radiation, Prevent Tear Evaporation
A team of Korean researchers has developed graphene-coated contact lenses that can protect their wearers from electromagnetic radiation and dehydration. It’s not immediately obvious what are the practical implications for this technology, but it’s certainly intriguing. The graphene-coated lenses were tested for their ability to shield r (Read more...)
Nano-Scale Straws for Non-destructive Monitoring of a Cell’s Interior
Routine lab work to examine a host of biological parameters often depends on destructively lysing, or bursting, cells to release their contents for measurement. While this simple technique has been used for decades, it creates a constraint on protocol design because a given cell can only be analyzed once (when lysed) in a snapshot-like manner. [&he (Read more...)
Nano Thread Enables Scientists to Extend Length of Brain Implant Efficacy
Researcher Dr. Luan and his interdisciplinary team from the University of Texas at Austin have developed an ultra flexible nanoelectronic thread (NET) that has the potential to offer a new type of the long-term neural implants. Neural probes are used to directly measure or even stimulate electrical activity in specific regions of the brain. However (Read more...)
DNA Computer Can Sense Multiple Antibody Inputs, With Potential for Smart Drug Delivery
Researchers at the University of Eindhoven in the Netherlands have developed a DNA computer that can respond to the presence of specific antibodies and make calculations, with the potential for intelligent drug delivery in the future. DNA computing involves using DNA molecules and other molecular biological components as molecular circuitry, instea (Read more...)
Novel Material Made of Living Cells Glows When Touching Certain Chemical Compounds
Scientists at MIT have developed a unique material that contains living, genetically engineered cells that fluoresce in the presence of specific chemicals. So far the potential of the technology has been demonstrated in gloves and bandages that light up when a certain compound is present in the exudate they come in contact with. The material [&hell (Read more...)
Nanoparticles Deliver CRISPR/Cas9 Genetic Editor Safely Into Cells
CRISPR/Cas9, a powerful gene editing technique that has already been used in a human, is thought by many as a “cut and paste” for DNA in living organisms. While in a sense that is what happens, delivering the ribonucleoprotein that does the genetic editing and the RNA that hones in on the target, into the cellular […]
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MRI Contrast Agent That Turns On at Sites of Disease
At the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) in South Korea, researchers have developed a new type of MRI contrast agent that only lights up when near a target. It consists of two components, an “enhancer” which is the actual contrast agent that lights up and a “quencher” that controls the activation of the enhancer. The en (Read more...)
Cheap Method for Printing Lab-on-Chip Devices Promises Diagnostic Revolution
Scientists at Stanford University have developed a new method of manufacturing lab-on-chip devices that cost only pennies to make, which can be used for research and point-of-care diagnostics, particularly in poorer places around the world. The investigators built such devices and showed that they can be used to separate cells from a sample, isolat (Read more...)
New Rapid Technique for Testing Safety of Nanoparticles on Body
Swiss researchers at the University of Geneva and University of Fribourg have developed a rapid technique for evaluating the safety of nanoparticles for the human body. Currently, this process often takes months, which is much too long when new nanoparticles are being developed at a rapid rate. Moreover, it can take many months to confirm that (Read more...)
Carbon Nanotubes as X-ray Contrast Agents to Track Stem Cells Inside Body
Researchers at Rice University have come up with a better X-ray contrast agent, which may allow for very precise tracking of cells, biomolecules, and other particles within the body. In particular, the researchers believe that seeing whether stem cells are moving towards and healing diseased tissue will be one of the first important applications fo (Read more...)
Silver Nanowire Skin Sensor for Measuring Hydration Levels
Athletes, soldiers, miners, and many others can suffer from dehydration, potentially putting them in mortal danger. Monitoring hydration levels within the body out in the field remains a challenge, but researchers at North Carolina State University have come up with a technology that may prove to be a consistent way of gauging hydration. The North (Read more...)
Tiny Acoustofluidic Chip Separates Nanoparticles from Liquid Samples to Detect Disease
Scientists at Duke University have developed a way of concentrating nanoparticles inside a small device using only sound waves. This achievement may help introduce portable diagnostics that rely on attaching nanoparticles to biomarkers such as proteins and measuring how many find their targets. There is now a large selection of nanoparticles, (Read more...)