The field of tissue engineering is rapidly progressing, in large part thanks to hydrogel scaffolds that provide a comfortable home for new cells. A major issue that researchers bump against is tracking how well oxygen reaches freshly grown cells within such scaffolds, which can indicate how well the new cells are generally functioning. Now, researchers […]
Tag: Nanomedicine
Self-Powered Microrobots Deliver Drugs to Tumors in the Gut
Treating tumors within the GI system is often a difficult challenge, frequently requiring invasive surgery. Scientists at Caltech have now developed self-propelled microrobots that can deliver drugs to precise spots within the intestines, and that can let clinicians monitor and control their activity. Besides drug delivery, the microrobots have the potential to be used in […]
Micromachines with Medical Potential Built Using Electric Fields
Micromachines that work inside our bodies is still mostly a dream, but it’s a worthy goal that could revolutionize medicine. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Germany have just taken a step toward that goal by developing a way for tiny mechanical components to self-assemble into complex and functional devices. This […]
Thin Microgels Encapsulate and Protect Therapeutic Cells
Cell-based therapies, such as those involving the delivery of stem cells, require a way to encapsulate cells inside a protective package in order for them to not be destroyed and washed out by the body. There have been successful attempts to contain therapeutic cells within hydrogels, but the resulting materials were bulky and could not […]
New Nanoparticles Help Spinal Cords to Heal Following Injury
When people damage their spinal cords, a lot of the long-term consequences often stem from the body’s overreaction to the injury. That’s because the blood-brain barrier protecting the spinal cord becomes compromised and overly aggressive immune cells flood in. Now, a team from the University of Michigan has developed a way of using intravenously delivered […]
Tiny Nanowire Probes Measure Intracellular Electrical Activity
Researchers at the University of Surrey and Harvard University have developed tiny nanoprobes that can measure electrical signals inside cells, such as neurons and cardiac cells. Unlike previous technology for intracellular electrophysiology, the nanoprobes cause minimal destruction to the cells, and could pave the way for human-machine interfaces such as neural prosthetics. Measuring electrical activity […]
Superhydrophic “Nanoflowers” for Biomedical Applications
Researchers from Texas A&M University have developed new nanomaterial with superhydrophobic properties. Their recent publication demonstrates that by controlling atomic-scale defects in their nanomaterial, they could use it to repel water and blood on glass, paper, and other common materials. This exciting development can lead to self-cleaning biosensors and anti-fouling surfaces. Various self-cleaning materials have […]
Crystallized Drugs to Protect Implants from Immune Attack
Implantable medical devices that intimately interact with the human body are often subject to the immune system’s foreign body response (FBR). This creates scarring around the implants, reducing their functionality over time. Now, scientists at MIT have developed a way to embed crystallized immunosuppressant drugs into implantable devices so that there is no serious localized […]
Nano-emulsions for Drug Delivery Through Skin
Researchers from MIT have developed a new chemical nanoemulsion that can help deliver drugs through the skin. Their work demonstrates that, only by using a handful of FDA-approved materials, they can create nano-sized emulsions which turn to gels when they come in contact with the body. These nano-emulsions may have interesting properties for drug delivery […]
DNA Microscopy Visualizes Genetic Content of Tissue Samples
Fundamentally new microscopy techniques don’t come out very often, but scientists at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute have just unveiled a new method of “imaging” tissue samples that provides a complex genetic and biomolecular picture of what’s going on inside individual cells. “It’s an entirely new category of microscopy,” explained Aviv Regev, one of the […]
Magnetic Nanoclusters For Tumor Destruction
A wide variety of magnetic nanoparticles have been developed by researchers. These devices can be injected into tumors and, using a magnetic field, made to heat up and kill cancer cells. One major challenge with using such nanoparticles is that they are usually expected to be injected using a syringe directly into a tumor, but […]
Graphene Sensor Inside Microfluidic Chip Detects Bacteria in Tiny Samples
Graphene, a two dimensional material made of a layer of carbon exactly one atom thick, has a variety of interesting properties. When used as a field-effect transistor, it can detect slight physical forces applied to its surface, making it particularly useful for diagnostics where targets are microscopically small. Researchers at Osaka University in Japan have […]
Tiny Implant Driven by Bluetooth Delivers Drugs Inside Body
Many drugs come with complicated dosing regimens, making it difficult for patients to keep track of when it is time to take the next pill. Those taking drugs for hypertension, rheumatism, and other conditions can have very personalized schedules that require accurate timing. Researchers at Houston Methodist hospital have now developed an implantable device that […]
Microrobot Developed for Delivery of Stem Cells to the Brain
Researchers from Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) in South Korea have developed a new microrobot that can precisely deliver therapeutic cells to very specific parts of the brain. Their work, recently published in Science Robotics, demonstrates that neural stem cells can be cultured and differentiated on their robot and that the device […]
Contrast Agent Uses Heart’s Electricity to Activate Itself
Imaging the heart for signs of disease is still quite rudimentary. While CT, ultrasound, and PET (positron-emission tomography) scanners generate impressive looking graphics, they’re a long way from giving doctors a true representation of the anatomy and function of the heart and nearby vasculature. Contrast agents are widely used to allow these modalities to produce […]
Molecular Motors Drill Through Cancer Cells
A couple of years ago a team of U.S. and U.K. scientists came up with a way of making molecular motors that can drill through cancer cells, destroying them in the process. The researchers, from Rice University, Durham University, and North Carolina State University, used an ultraviolet (UV) light source to energize these motors, but […]
Spasers: Nanoscale Lasers Small Enough to Destroy Cancer Cells from Within
Lasers are known to do remarkable things in medicine, but their use in targeting diseased tissue is not as widespread as everyone expected it to be decades ago. One issue is that lasers are pretty indiscriminate and traditionally have beams that are still too large for extremely fine work. Researchers at the University of Arkansas […]
Octopus-Inspired Wearable Biosensor Sticks to Wet and Dry Skin
Researchers from Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) in South Korea have developed a new waterproof, wearable biosensor that can stick to the skin in a unique way. Their work, recently published in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, demonstrates the biosensor adheres to the skin in wet and dry conditions and can monitor […]
Gold Nanoparticle-Coated Surgical Meshes for Photothermal Infection Control
Researchers at the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) in Catalonia have developed a new technique to decontaminate surgical meshes once they are implanted in the body. The technique involves gold nanoparticle-coated meshes that heat up when they are exposed to near infrared light, destroying bacterial biofilms on the mesh surface. The researchers hope that this […]
Machine Learning Helps Design Complex Immunotherapies
Researchers from Northwestern University have leveraged machine learning to aid in the design of nanomedicines for immunotherapy. They utilized a high-throughput method to synthesize 800 unique immunostimulatory nanoparticles called Spherical Nucleic Acids (SNAs). “Spherical nucleic acids represent an exciting new class of medicines that are already in five human clinical trials for treating diseases, including […]