While current concern is all about the COVID-19 virus that originated in China and spread around the world, this pathogen will eventually disappear. Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria, though, is with us for the long run and it can cause just as much suffering as COVID-19. Researchers at Rutgers University have just reported in journal […]
Tag: Nanomedicine
Spiral Hydroporator To Deliver Nanotechnologies Into Cells
A myriad of different therapeutic, diagnostic, and research-oriented nano-scale devices and molecules have been developed to work inside living cells. While many of these particles are very effective at what they do, it is often the difficulty of delivering them that is the real challenge in using them for practical purposes. Typically, either some sort […]
4D Printer to Create Synthetic Biological Surfaces
Researchers at the City University of New York and Northwestern University have developed a printer capable of creating highly detailed surfaces precisely loaded with a variety of organic and biological molecules. The technology allows the researchers to create objects that resemble the surfaces of living cells, something that may prove extremely useful in developing biomedical […]
Nanocontainers to Invade Nuclei of Living Cells
The nuclei of cells in our bodies is where much of the important intracellular processes take place. The genomic code is mostly stored within the nucleus and gene expression is controlled there, so getting drugs inside this most important organelle is a long sought goal of many researchers. Some viruses have been used to deliver […]
Nanoparticles Direct Immune System to Scrub Atherosclerotic Plaques
The buildup of plaques within blood vessel walls is the underlying cause of strokes and heart attacks. These plaques contain many dead or dying cells that are not flushed out by the immune system fast enough. Now, researchers from Stanford are reporting on a new drug-carrying nanoparticle that can seek out atherosclerotic plaques and stimulate […]
Magnetic Microbots Deliver Stem Cells to Heal Knee Cartilage
As has been widely hyped for many years now, mesenchymal stem cells have the capacity to heal all sorts of damage in our bodies. The reality has been more complicated, since it is actually very difficult to get these cells to perform their magic just where we want them to. Damaged cartilage, for example, doesn’t […]
Portable Nanoplasmonic Imager Detects Sepsis Biomarkers
Sepsis is an incredibly dangerous condition, typically occurring within hospitals. According to a recent study nearly 20% of all deaths worldwide are caused by sepsis, as it is a disease that quickly gets out of control if not treated early and properly. At present, there is no easy way for clinicians to quickly provide a […]
Nanoparticles to Spot Vascular Calcification in Atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis affects most of us by a certain age, and it is the underlying cause of most cardiovascular diseases. The condition results in arteries being coated with plaques and fatty deposits, as well as being chronically inflamed. While vascular constrictions aren’t good for anyone, it is the thrombi (blood clots) that detach from these formations […]
DNA Circuits to Identify Cancer Cells
Researchers from Duke University have developed a new DNA-based tool to identify cancer cells. Their system is a DNA circuit. DNA binding to specific cell markers produces a signal if and only if two specific proteins are present, helping to improve specificity and reduce false positives in cancer cell detection. The researchers also hope that […]
Self-Propelled Enzyme-Coated Liposomes for Drug Delivery
Researchers at Penn State have developed self-propelled liposomes that can migrate towards or away from chemical signals, paving the way for self-directed drug delivery vehicles that can actively target a specific area in the body. The technology may help to enhance efficacy and reduce side-effects of drugs in a variety of applications. Because of the […]
Self-Propelled Enzyme-Coated Liposomes for Drug Delivery
Researchers at Penn State have developed self-propelled liposomes that can migrate towards or away from chemical signals, paving the way for self-directed drug delivery vehicles that can actively target a specific area in the body. The technology may help to enhance efficacy and reduce side-effects of drugs in a variety of applications. Because of the […]
Chemo-Loaded Nanoparticles Piggyback on Red Blood Cells to Treat Lung Cancer
Scientists at Harvard’s Wyss Institute have developed a technique to deliver chemotherapy to the lungs using red blood cells. The method involves binding chemotherapy-loaded nanoparticles to red blood cells, which are then injected into the bloodstream. Once the red blood cells reach the lungs they have to squeeze through the small capillaries and the resulting […]
Peptoid-Coated Magnetic Beads to Diagnose Prion Diseases, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s
Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have developed synthetic peptide-coated magnetic beads that can be used to detect the presence of misfolded proteins in blood samples. Misfolded proteins are a factor in a number of diseases, including prion diseases, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s. To date it has been difficult to detect such proteins in patient blood […]
Nanoparticles Cross Blood-Brain Barrier to Treat Stroke
Ischemic strokes can cause havoc in the brain, but early and properly directed treatment can mitigate a lot of damage. While there are a number of options to unclog blocked arteries, the potential to provide additional drug therapy remains mostly unexplored because of the difficulty in getting medications past the blood-brain barrier. Now, researchers at […]
Optical Nanoprobes Monitor Neural, Cardiac Cell Activity
Monitoring neurons and other excitable cells in vivo for research and clinical applications has usually required the use of electrode arrays. These are quite limited in their electrode density and the area that they can cover. Moreover, the amount of signal generated by the neurological system overwhelms any attempts at building large scale electronic microelectrode […]
Microscopic Donuts Swim On Their Own to Deliver Therapies Inside Body
While there has been a great deal of work on a variety of micro- and nanoparticles that can deliver drugs and other therapies within the body, compared with bacteria they’re extremely rudimentary in how they can move within the body. Most are simply carried along by the blood to whatever destinations they end up being […]
Tiny Traps Lure Cancer Cells for Diagnostics, Treatment Monitoring
Detecting cancer at its early stages remains a major challenge in oncology. Even monitoring the progression of cancer is difficult, but researchers at the University of Michigan have come up with a tiny implantable device that can draw cancer cells toward itself for gene expression analysis. The microscopic device is a biomaterial scaffold that is […]
Controllable Microswimmers Move Around Individual Cells in 3D
Manipulating individual cells and microscopic particles may be extremely valuable for testing new therapies, targeting tumors, and for studying the underlying causes of disease, but it is very difficult to directly manipulate individual cells within an environment shared with other cells. A collaboration of researchers from University of California San Diego, University of Pennsylvania, and […]
3D Liquid-Cell Electron Microscopy Imaging Now Possible
Electron microscopy revealed a world that exists at scales smaller than the wavelength of light. Advancements in this field have allowed scientists to visualize ever more objects and processes, but actually seeing living cells in 3D and within a liquid environment has been impossible. Now, a team of researchers from Penn State University, Virginia Tech, […]
Peptide Particles Ferry Drugs Across Blood-Brain Barrier
Most drugs, genetic materials, and other therapeutic agents are very difficult to use inside the brain because of the blood-brain barrier. There have been attempts to use ultrasound and microbubbles to create temporary passages through the barrier, including as a possible therapy for Alzheimer’s disease, but this is approach is not easy or ideal. Now, […]