Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and the University of Texas at Dallas are reporting today at the 55th Annual Biophysical Society Annual Meeting in Baltimore, MD how they are using a novel 3D cell imaging method for studying the complex spatial-temporal dynamics of protein transport, providing a solution to this fundamental problem in cell biology.
The major European event in the path-breaking field of Nanomedicine is the 4th European Conference for Clinical Nanomedicine taking place from May 23 to May 25, 2011 in Basel, Switzerland. The conference focuses on the clinical application of novel developments in nanosciences and is organised by the CLINAM Foundation, in collaboration with the ETP Nanomedicine. It also includes industrial topics, opinions and recommendations from regulatory authorities as well as discussion panels on ethical questions and the wider societal implications.
This interaction results in a thermoelectric effect that was first observed during the 1950´s and has come to be known as phonon-drag, because it can be quantified from the flow of lattice-wave quanta (phonons) that occurs over the temperature gradient.
Water treatment is important for human consumption and environmental protection. Non-trivial purification of water involves removal of toxic ions, organic impurities, microbes and their by-products as well as scooping oil spills. The removal of organic contaminants from water is a major industrial concern. The contaminated water from industries usually contains considerable amounts of organic hydrocarbons such as BTEX prohibiting direct release into natural water bodies. The dissolved organic compounds cause bacterial growth, odor generation and biofouling bringing limitation on reuse.
Many substances and nutrients are exchanged across the cell membrane. EPFL scientists have developed a method to observe these exchanges, by taking a highly accurate count of the number of proteins found there. Their research has just been published in the Journal Plos One ("Quantitative Photo Activated Localization Microscopy: Unraveling the Effects of Photoblinking").
Repellents play an important role in protecting humans from insect bites. An effective and safe repellent is useful in reducing human-vector contact, and thereby helps in the interruption of vector-borne disease transmission – mosquito bites can cause causes diseases like dengue and malaria. There are two types of repellents – synthetic and natural. Some plant-based natural repellents are Lemon Eucalyptus, citronella, and lavender.
In nanomedicine, nanoparticles are used as vehicles for efficiently delivering therapeutic nucleic acids, such as disease-fighting genes and small interfering RNA molecules, into cells. But getting nanomedicines to their target sites inside cells is not the only challenge.
The possibility of developing stem cells from a patient's own skin and using them to treat conditions as diverse as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and cancer has generated tremendous excitement in the stem cell research community in recent years. Such therapies would avoid the controversial need for using stem cells derived from human embryos, and in theory, also bypass immunological problems inherent in using cells from one person to treat another.
Silicone elastomers are widely used for biomedical applications and products. More recently, researchers have even proposed to fabricate implantable nanogenerators on stretchable silicon rubber to power for instance pace makers.
Is the emerging field of nanomedicine a breathtaking technological revolution that promises remarkable new ways of diagnosing and treating diseases? Or does it portend the release of dangerous nanoparticles, nanorobots or nanoelectronic devices that will wreak havoc in the body?
Access Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company leveraging its proprietary drug-delivery platforms to develop treatments in areas of oncology, cancer supportive care and diabetes, announced that it has made significant progress with its CobaCyte™ tumor-targeting technology. Using a new proprietary CobaCyte paclitaxel nanoparticle formulation, named Cobraxane™, the company's scientists have observed significant tumor growth inhibition in preclinical tumor models.
Nano Terra has declared it is taking over Surface Logix, a company founded by the Harvard scientist Professor George Whitesides. Surface Logix has created the Pharmacomer Technology Platform to help discover small molecule drugs optimized for human physiology.
A state-of-the-art high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) has been purchased by the Department of Science and Technology, South Africa. This instrument will boost nanotechnology research in Africa.
Stephanie Meyer, a physicist specializing in optics, is bringing new capabilities to the University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus by building an advanced, super resolution microscope able to see some of the innermost workings of the cell.
Chromosomal dissection enables separation of DNA from cytogenetically identified region to produce genetic probes for exhibiting fluorescence in situ hybridization, a method that is popular in cyto and molecular genetics study and diagnostics.
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) published new information explaining an innovative technique to deliver RNAi therapeutics systemically with the help of synergistic blends of innovative lipid-like substances known as "lipidoids."
RNAi therapeutics firm, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals in partnership with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has published a new paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on the development of core-shell nanoparticles for delivering RNAi therapeutics systemically.
An amorphous-seed mediated strategy has been developed in the Center for Nanoscale Materials Nanophotonics Group for creating bifunctional nanoparticles composed of silver and iron oxide nanodomains ("Plasmonic/Magnetic Bifunctional Nanoparticles"). These hybrid particles exhibit unique optical properties due to surface plasmon resonance from the silver and superparamagnetic responses from the iron oxide.
Antibiotics are among the greatest achievements of medical science. But lately the former multi-purpose weapon fails in the battle against infectious diseases. Bacteria are increasingly developing resistance to antibiotics. Researchers have now found a therapeutic equivalent which could replace penicillin and related phamaceuticals.
The chemistry professor of Iowa State University and Ames Laboratory scientist, Klaus Schmidt-Rohr and his team used nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to study bone structure, whose stiffness is influenced by tiny nanocrystals of carbonated apatite.
Iroko Pharmaceuticals, LLC and Aptuit Inc. announced today that Aptuit will provide manufacturing scale-up services as Iroko progresses its novel pain medications to Phase III clinical trials.
We may very well be, according to a study in this month's Nature Chemistry ("Gradient-driven motion of multivalent ligand molecules along a surface functionalized with multiple receptors"). Controlling how molecules move on surfaces could be the key to more potent drugs that block the attachment of viruses to cells, and will also speed development of new materials for electronics and energy applications. The study is the culmination of a EU-funded collaboration between Tyndall National Institute, UCC researcher Dr. Damien Thompson and colleagues at University of Twente in the Netherlands. Dr. Thompson performed computer simulations that enabled a greater understanding of how two-legged molecules move along patterned surfaces, in a kind of molecular hopscotch.
"This acquisition is transformational for us and important to the broader RNAi field," said Dr. Christopher Anzalone, President and CEO of Arrowhead. "The combination of these assets and Arrowhead's existing RNAi technologies results in what we believe to be the broadest RNAi therapeutics company in the world, with unparalleled delivery solutions and licenses granting broad freedom to operate within the three primary siRNA formats."
Arrowhead Research Corporation, a nanomedicine company with development programs in oncology, obesity and regenerative medicine, today announced that majority-owned subsidiary Ablaris Therapeutics, Inc. has completed a second closing of its Series A financing round for gross proceeds of $1.2 million, with aggregate gross proceeds of $2.9 million to date. Arrowhead invested $1.3 million in the offering and holds a 64% stake in the obesity company post closing. Use of proceeds includes upfront licensing payments and expenses associated with preparation for a Phase I clinical trial, expected in the second half of 2011.
Arrowhead Research Corporation, a nanomedicine company with development programs in oncology, obesity, and regenerative medicine, today announced the publication of a white paper providing an overview of its proprietary dynamic polyconjugate (DPC) technology for safe and effective delivery of siRNA.
Cilia, tiny hair-like structures that perform feats such as clearing microscopic debris from the lungs and determining the correct location of organs during development, move in mysterious ways. Their beating motions are synchronized to produce metachronal waves, similar in appearance to "the wave" created in large arenas when audience members use their hands to produce a pattern of movement around the entire stadium.
Proteins are natural biomolecules applicable in research on life science, biotechnology and medicine. The team led by Professor Arne Skerra from the TUM department of bio-chemistry has extended the genetic code to stress bacterial cells to emit customized proteins with artificial functions.
A new stretchy, supple synthetic skin prototype developed at Stanford has some impressive pressure sensitivity, deforming and contorting without any breakage or wrinkling. It's made of spray-on carbon nanotubes, which act as springs and can measure the force being applied to them.
Victims of third-degree burns and other traumatic injuries endure pain, disfigurement, invasive surgeries and a long time waiting for skin to grow back. Improved tissue grafts designed by Cornell scientists that promote vascular growth could hasten healing, encourage healthy skin to invade the wounded area and reduce the need for surgeries.
Scientists at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle have determined the atomic architecture of a sodium channel. The achievement opens new possibilities for molecular medicine researchers around the world in designing better drugs for pain, epilepsy, and heart rhythm disturbances.
It sounds like hype from a late-night infomercial: It can twist and bend without breaking! And wait, there's more: It could someday help you fend off disease!
For the first time, Australian medical scientists were able to view the inner mechanism of T-cells, which are capable of sending warning signs to the human immune system to protect themselves against harmful microorganisms and other foreign bodies entering the bloodstream.
A research team from Canada has developed an automated microfluidic cell culture platform for monitoring the growth, responses and survival of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) at a single cell level.
Heparin is widely used as an anti-coagulant to prevent the formation of blood clots. This naturally occurring biological molecule is commonly used during surgery for blood thinning. At the end of surgery, heparin has to be removed in order to allow the blood to clot again -- this is currently done using a protein called protamine, the only clinically approved heparin binder. Unfortunately, protamine -- a natural product extracted from shellfish -- can cause severe allergic reactions in a number of patients.
A team of researchers at the US Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, led by Chemist Jay Groves has developed a new method to study the spatial patterns in living cells and also analyse its impact on the behaviour of living cells.
Genetic testing made possible by the mapping of the human genome can help the US cut costs and create jobs while at the same time improving survival rates for such diseases as cancer, HIV, and heart disease.
Developing drugs to combat or cure human disease often involves a phase of testing with mice, so being able to peer clearly into a living mouse's innards has real value.
A real estate investment trust (REIT) focusing on offering real estate services to the life science industry, BioMed Realty Trust has signed a lease contract with BIND Biosciences for its Vassar Street property situated in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
BIND Biosciences announced today that it has been awarded a prestigious 2011 Edison Best New Product in Science and Medicine Game Changers Award. This award recognizes BIND's innovative targeted nanoparticle therapeutic platform for its potential to revolutionize the treatment of many serious diseases. The Edison Awards symbolize the persistence and excellence personified by Thomas Alva Edison, inspiring America's drive to remain in the forefront of innovation, creativity and ingenuity in the global economy.
Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN) has reported in its April 1 issue that academic and scientists are researching on serum analysis to discover biomarkers that can be used in personalized medicine.
Just as cell phones and computers transmit data through electronic networks, the cells of your body send and receive chemical messages through molecular pathways. The term "cell signaling" was coined more than 30 years ago to describe this process.
Biochemists will take part in the 35th Steenbock Symposium at UW Madison from June 26-28 to talk about the advancements in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, which enables scientists to study vital structural data about biological molecules.
Techulon, a Blacksburg, Virginia-based life sciences company offering low toxicity and novel biodegradable RNA and DNA delivery agents for cell-based therapeutics and research, has entered into a distribution deal with Allschwil, Switzerland-based BioConcept for its polymeric nanoparticle-delivery transfection reagent called Glycofect.
An ongoing Arizona State University effort to develop a revolutionary class of reagents that holds great promise for the future of medicine has received a major boost with a three-year, $4 million award from the National Institutes of Health.
Biomedicine and cell and molecular biology require powerful imaging techniques of the single molecule scale to the whole organism, either for fundamental science or diagnosis. These applications are however often limited by the optical properties of the available probes. Moreover, in cell biology, the measurement of the cell response with spatial and temporal resolution is a central instrumental problem. This has been one of the main motivations for the development of new probes and imaging techniques either for biomolecule labeling or detection of an intracellular signaling species.
Do the principles of quantum mechanics apply to biological systems? Until now, says Prof. Ron Naaman of the Institute's Chemical Physics Department (Faculty of Chemistry), both biologists and physicists have considered quantum systems and biological molecules to be like apples and oranges. But research he conducted together with scientists in Germany, which appeared recently in Science ("Spin Selectivity in Electron Transmission Through Self-Assembled Monolayers of Double-Stranded DNA "), definitively shows that a biological molecule -- DNA -- can discern between quantum states known as spin.
Nanoscale technology developer for single-molecule analysis and imaging, BioNanomatrix announces that a $23.3 Million worth Series B equity financing round has been completed.
Blackstone-NEY Ultrasonics, a New York based manufacturer of precision ultrasonic parts washers, is proud to announce its newly patented multiSONIK™2 technology to its line of precision ultrasonic cleaning systems.
Blend Therapeutics, a biotechnology company discovering and developing a new class of integrative combination medicines, announced the company's founding and strategic mission to develop innovative combination medicines with novel pharmacological profiles designed to target distinct disease pathways with optimal efficacy and safety.
Melding nanotechnology and medical research, Sandia National Laboratories, the University of New Mexico, and the UNM Cancer Research and Treatment Center have produced an effective strategy that uses nanoparticles to blast cancerous cells with a mélange of killer drugs.
Hollow nanotubes with walls just a few atoms thick are increasingly being used to monitor biological processes in individual cells. Such nanotubes can be loaded with fluorescent molecules that respond to certain biochemicals or a change in temperature or pH with a measurable change in fluorescence.
A hard probe inserted in the cerebral cortex of a rat model turns nearly as pliable as the surrounding gray matter in minutes, and induces less of the tough scarring that walls off hard probes that do not change, researchers at Case Western Reserve University have found.
Select Biosciences, organisers of European Lab Automation (ELA) 2011, are delighted to announce that the Advances in Microarray Technology, Lab-on-a-Chip European Congress and Next Gen Sequencing Europe meetings will be joining the streams of this new, highly topical conference & exhibition, held in Hamburg, Germany, from 30 June - 1 July 2011. With a comprehensive schedule of presentations and workshops, from leading researchers and vendors alike, ELA promises to provide a forum to discuss the automation of high throughput molecular biology techniques using the most up-to-date and innovative technologies.
Bruker Corporation and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory today announced a collaboration to develop and distribute new structural biology methods and tools to integrate Small-Angle X-ray Scattering with Nuclear Magnetic Resonance.
At the XXII Congress and General Assembly of the IUCr held in Madrid, Bruker today launches the D8 QUEST™ and D8 VENTURE™ high performance X-ray crystallography systems for structural biology.
Researchers have come up with a recipe for making functional neurons directly from human skin cells, including those taken from patients with Alzheimer's disease. The new method may offer a critical short cut for generating neurons for replacement therapies of the future, according to research published in the August 5th issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication. Already, the converted neurons are beginning to yield insights into what goes wrong in the Alzheimer's brain and how diseased neurons might respond to treatment.
The quest for better ways of encapsulating medicine so that it can reach diseased parts of the body has led scientists to harness - for the first time - living human cells to produce natural capsules with channels for releasing drugs and diagnostic agents. The report appears in ACS' journal Nano Letters.
Implantable medical devices such as cardiac pacemakers, neurostimulators and drug delivery devices are major medical tools to support life activity and provide new therapeutic strategies. Most such devices are powered by lithium batteries whose service life is as low as 10 years.
Lieutenant Governor Robert J. Duffy today joined officials in announcing a $3 million partnership between Carestream Health and the Research Foundation of SUNY on behalf of the Smart System Technology & Commercialization Center of Excellence (STC) of the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) of the University at Albany, a collaboration that will enable innovative technology research, development and prototyping, create high-tech jobs, and fill the last available space at CNSE's STC facilities in Canandaigua.
Graphene research papers are popping up left and right at what seems like an accelerating speed and growing volume. One of the areas that is seeing vast research interest is the biological interfacing of graphene for instance for sensor applications.
Prof. Manojkumar Puthenveedu of Carnegie Mellon University studies the mechanisms by which membrane trafficking controls and co-ordinates the complex signalling pathways in the brain. Despite the fact that almost all diseases can be traced to a defect in how cells respond to signals, little is known about how signalling pathways are maintained in normal cells and the changes that occur in abnormal conditions.
From a nucleus to mitochondria, lysosomes and the nuclear pore complex, every animal cell contains a range of organelles within just 1--100 micrometers of space. How might cell functions change if one of these organelles becomes damaged? Despite rapid progress in molecular biology research, such experiments have yet to be fully developed because organelles are too small and fragile to be manipulated individually.
A recent study demonstrated that Cellastim® (recombinant human albumin) and Optiferrin® (recombinant human transferrin) deliver superior xeno-free and animal-free solutions for primary cell and stem cell expansion media. The study revealed that the combination of Cellastim and Optiferrin delivered a 250-300% increase in performance over the best animal-derived combination. These research findings were presented at the Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine World Congress, January 2011 poster session.
Celsion Corporation, a leading oncology drug development company, today announced that ThermoDox®, its proprietary, heat-activated liposomal encapsulation of doxorubicin, was featured in a special issue of The Open Nanomedicine Journal highlighting recent advances, trends and challenges in the use of regional and local hyperthermia and nanomedicine in oncology.
Physicians and engineers within a new center devoted to pediatric nanomedicine will develop targeted, molecular-sized nanoparticles as part of a unique approach to treating pediatric diseases. Specific focus areas will include pediatric heart disease and thrombosis, infectious diseases, cancer, sickle cell disease and cystic fibrosis.
The Center of Innovation for Nanobiotechnology (COIN), a non-profit commercialization center dedicated to the development and growth of nanobiotechnology related industries, announced today that Griffith Kundahl has been named Executive Director of the organization.
Waters's Centers of Innovation Program recognition was awarded to Dr Joseph Dalluge who heads the Mass Spectrometry Laboratory of University of Minnesota. Dr Joseph Dalluge was honored for his research in the development of diagnostic marker assays to determine cystic fibrosis and other such diseases.
An EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) Centre for revolutionising the way pharmaceuticals and other chemicals are made is being officially launched today (Friday, 8 April).
The anti-inflammatory effects of RNS60, developed by Revalesio, will be demonstrated at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) to be held in San Francisco between March 18 and 22.
Electrical implants that shut down excessive activity in brain cells hold great potential for treating epilepsy and chronic pain. Likewise, devices that enhance neurons' activity may help restore function to people with nerve damage.
Researchers working at Heidelberg University's Institute of Physical Chemistry and members of the Cluster of Excellence, CellNetworks have developed a method to replace light-dependent processes with chemical reactions to form cellular structures for high-resolution optical microscopy.
Rice University chemists have found a way to load more than 2 million tiny gold particles called nanorods into a single cancer cell. The breakthrough could speed development of cancer treatments that would use nanorods like tiny heating elements to cook tumors from the inside.
A new method for visualizing mechanical forces on the surface of a cell, reported in Nature Methods, provides the first detailed view of those forces, as they occur in real-time.
Chemists have taken an important step in making artificial life forms from scratch. Using a novel chemical reaction, they have created self-assembling cell membranes, the structural envelopes that contain and support the reactions required for life.
Today, ChemRisk LLC announced the formation of three Centers of Excellence to address the growing need for specialized risk assessment and risk management services worldwide: the Center for Product Sustainability, the Center for Nanotechnology and the Center for Occupational Health and Safety Sciences.
China Medical Technologies, Inc., a leading China-based advanced in-vitro diagnostic ("IVD") company, and Leica Biosystems, a division of Leica Microsystems, a world leader in microscopes and scientific instruments, today announced that they have established a sales, research and development collaboration to co-develop and market automated FISH kits to be used on the Leica BOND system. CMED will sell the Automated FISH Kits in China and Leica will have an option to sell the FISH kits in the rest of the world.
Hitachi High Technologies America has launched the Chromaster High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) platform, which is robust and user-friendly.
The CIC microGUNE research centre and the Biodonostia Institute have recently started testing a new technique for assessing the severity of inflammatory intestinal diseases, such as Crohn's Disease, in patients at the Donostia Hospital.
Dr Julianna Olah, an EU Marie Curie Fellow in Bristol has worked with Professor Jeremy Harvey and Professor Adrian Mulholland of Bristol's School of Chemistry, to analyze a group of enzymes called cytochromes P450, which help remove drug molecules from the human body.
In a pioneering initiative that will prepare a new generation of research physicians to be leaders in 21st century health care, the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) of the University at Albany and SUNY Downstate Medical Center (Downstate) today announced the establishment of a first-of-its-kind, dual degree program to provide world-class education and training in both medicine and nanoscale science and engineering, which will enable nanomedicine innovations designed to transform and enhance the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease.
University at Albany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) organized 'NanoCareer Day' on March 30. The program was attended by around 300 middle and high school children from several parts of New York State.
Coating the surface of an implant such as a new hip or pacemaker with nanosized metallic particles reduces the risk of rejection, and researchers at the University of Gothenburg can now explain why: they fool the innate immune system.
The Center of Innovation for Nanobiotechnology (COIN) today announced the upcoming NanoBio Executive Roundtable event to be hosted at RTP Foundation in Durham, NC on May 17, 2011. This Roundtable will tackle regulatory issues surrounding nanomedicine commercialization. The "Nanomedicines and the Regulatory Path" Roundtable will kick off with a presentation from Katherine Tyner, Ph.D., a Chemist in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
SuperNova Diagnostics, an international company that provides diagnostic solutions for use in human and non-human health applications, declared that is has inked an accord with Shenzhen Kang Sheng Bao Bio-Technology (KSB), which is a company offering biotechnology diagnostic solutions.
mChip or mobile microfluidic chip, a diagnostic equipment developed by Columbia Engineering researchers using microfluidics and nanoparticles, has been successfully tested to conduct difficult laboratory assays in Rwanda.
Engineering structures on the smallest possible scales -- using molecules and individual atoms as building blocks -- is both physically and conceptually challenging. An interdisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania has now developed a method of computationally selecting the best of these blocks, drawing inspiration from the similar behavior of proteins in making biological structures.
Researchers are developing computational models to predict the behaviour of nanomaterials in biological systems. Such predictions will allow researchers to streamline and prioritise the toxicological testing of nanomaterials.
A research team at the Tyndall National Institute has collaborated with Dr. Damien Thompson-led team at University of Twente in the Netherlands. Dr. Thompson conducted computer simulations to help understand how two-limbed molecules travel on patterned surfaces, in a hop, skip and jump manner.
Concept Laboratories researchers have found that timed-release nanotechnology can enhance topical pain relievers. They have developed the first-of-its-kind timed-release topical pain relief products.
Cord Blood America, Inc., the umbilical cord blood stem cell preservation company, focused on bringing the life saving potential of cord blood stem cells to families nationwide and internationally, announced today that it has purchased all the umbilical cord blood (UCB) samples and the related laboratory equipment from Reproductive Genetics Institute, Inc. (RGI), based in Chicago, Illinois.
The ability to image single biological molecules in a living cell is something that has long eluded researchers; however, a novel technique, using the structure of diamond, may well be able to do this and potentially provide a tool for diagnosing, and eventually developing a treatment for, hard-to-cure diseases such as cancer. In a study published today, Thursday, 19 May, in the Institute of Physics and the German Physical Society's New Journal of Physics, researchers have developed a technique, exploiting a specific defect in the lattice structure of diamond, to externally detect the spins of individual molecules.
Conventional microfluidic devices are fabricated in inherently planar, block-like devices. In contrast, an important feature of naturally self-assembled systems such as leaves and tissues is that they are curved and have embedded fluidic channels that enable the transport of nutrients to, or removal of waste from, specific three-dimensional regions.
Through the U.S. Department of Defense's Small Business Innovation Research program, DARPA is currently soliciting research proposals to develop a platform capable of rapidly synthesizing therapeutic nanoparticles targeted against evolving and engineered pathogens.
Carbon nanotubes are expected to revolutionize the development of various high-performance biomedical devices and materials. Their particular ability to cross membranes and enter cells under certain conditions can facilitate the delivery of therapeutics to specific targets in the body -- but may also induce harmful side effects such as inflammation and abnormal tissue growth.
Delpor, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on drug delivery, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued on June 7, 2011 U.S. Patent No. 7,955,614 covering Delpor's microfabricated nanopore device for the sustained release of therapeutic agents. The device uses Delpor's proprietary NANOPOR™ technology for the sustained (zero-order) release of large and small molecules for several months after subcutaneous implantation. Delpor has exclusive rights to the patented technology and has several product candidates in development.
A research team from the DGF-Centre for Functional Nanostructures (CFN), located in the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, has cultivated cells on three-dimensional materials.
This project aimed at studying the dispersion and retention behavior of dusts consisting of nanoscaled primary particles. Toxicological studies have demonstrated that the effects observed for nanoscaled particles are better correlated to the particle surface or particle number than to the administered mass doses.
In collaboration with Cavendish Laboratory (Department of Physics at the University of Cambridge), Dolomite, a world leader in the design and manufacture of microfluidic solutions, has designed a glass microfluidic device for a novel laser tool that allows the study of mechanical properties of cells using optical stretching on a single cell basis.
Microfluidics expert Dolomite has been involved in a number of projects integrating electrode features in microfluidic devices combining the advantages of both microfluidics and electrochemistry. Embedded between two glass layers or placed on top of a microfluidic chip, electrodes enable on-chip functionality including electrical impedance spectrometry, electrophoresis, amperometric detection, electrical heating and high voltage microfluidic experimentation.
Following the global success of the Mitos P-Pump, microfluidics expert Dolomite has launched the Mitos P-Pump Basic offering a flexible and cost effective solution for microfluidic systems operating from nl/min to ml/min.
In collaboration with The Gurdon Institute, Dolomite, a world leader in the design and manufacture of microfluidic solutions, has introduced the Embryo Immobilisation Chip ideal for the immobilization and observation of embryos or cell aggregates of up to 150µm in diameter.
A novel, lower-dose formulation of indomethacin, a widely used pain reliever, is absorbed faster by the body than a standard formulation and maintains comparable maximum concentrations in the blood despite being administered at a lower dose, according to a study to be reported here tomorrow at the annual meeting of the American Headache Society (AHS).
Despite great advances, uncontrolled hemorrhage is still the leading cause of death on the battlefield as well as a serious challenge in civilian disasters. As a case in point, hemorrhagic control of noncompressable and open cavity injuries has thus far remained elusive to medical science. Teaming with the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Hybrid Plastics has developed a safe, novel and effective clotting (hemostatic) agent which can be applied either externally or internally.
Elan Drug Technologies (EDT), the leading drug delivery unit of Elan Corporation, plc, announced that the first injectable product using EDT's NanoCrystal® technology has been approved by the European Commission. XEPLION®, Janssen-Cilag International NV's long-acting injectable treatment for patients with schizophrenia which uses EDT's NanoCrystal® technology, was approved by the European Commission on March 9.
Electron Microscopy Sciences is pleased to introduce the EMS 300 series of large specimen sputter coaters for SEM preparation and thin film applications. The series features a multiple sputtering head design that ensures even coating deposition over a single large specimen or multiple small specimens. The flexible system allows sputtering to be limited to a single source for more economical sputtering of smaller specimens.
A special group of proteins, the so-called chaperons, helps other proteins to obtain their correct conformation. Until now scientists supposed that hydrolyzing ATP provides the energy for the large conformational changes of chaperon Hsp90.
EuroNanoMed, a European funding initiative under the ERA-Net scheme of the European Commission aimed at advancing transnational research in Nanomedicine, announced today the projects that will be funded following its 3rd and last joint transnational call for collaborative research projects. Eight projects, involving 40 partners from 11 countries, will be funded with €8 Million provided by EuroNanoMed funding agencies. The research projects were chosen from 41 applications involving 207 applicant groups from 20 EU member and associated states/regions.
"Nanomedicine is certainly the most promising enabling technology to achieve breakthroughs in medical technologies. It will strongly contribute to driving the future of medicine. A first step to initiate the necessary actions will be done in October in Barcelona." says Bertrand Loubaton, Director at GE Healthcare and chairman of the European Technology Platform ETPN.
The practical use of visible light and zinc oxide nanorods for destroying bacterial water contamination has been successfully demonstrated by researchers at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT). Nanorods grown on glass substrates and activated by solar energy have been found to be effective in killing both gram positive and gram negative bacteria -- a finding that has immense possibilities for affordable and environmentally friendly water purification techniques.
Faculty of 1000 today announces 1000 Research, a new fully Open Access publishing program across biology and medicine that will launch later this year. It is intended to address the major issues afflicting scientific publishing today: timely dissemination of research, peer review, and sharing of data.
Blood tests are important diagnostic tools. They accurately tease-out vanishingly small concentrations of proteins and other molecules that help give a picture of overall health or signal the presence of specific diseases. Current testing procedures, however, are expensive and time-consuming, while sophisticated test equipment is bulky and difficult to transport.
An international research team headed by DESY scientists from the Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL) in Hamburg, Germany, has recorded the shortest X-ray exposure of a protein crystal ever achieved. The incredible brief exposure time of 0.000 000 000 000 03 seconds (30 femtoseconds) opens up new possibilities for imaging molecular processes with X-rays.
FEI, a leading instrumentation company providing imaging and analysis systems for research and industry, today announced that it has acquired TILL Photonics of Munich, Germany. TILL provides sophisticated, high resolution, digital light microscopes and high speed imaging systems for live cell fluorescence microscopy.
FEI, a leading instrumentation company providing imaging and analysis systems for research and industry, today announced a new correlative workflow solution for research scientists. FEI's MAPS provides a fast and efficient correlative workflow that enables researchers to see both large scale context and small scale detail in one overview.
For the first time, a team from the Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire has obtained a high-resolution, full 3D image of a small but vital molecule locked up within our cells: the vitamin D receptor.
Medical ointments that could be thick outside the body but be made less dense for use in the body. Easy-to-make, new drug delivery vehicles that can be triggered multiple times at different temperatures. Science fiction? Not anymore. Researchers from A*STAR's IMRE have developed two new 'smart' biomaterials that can be used for unique drug delivery and biomedical applications (Self-Assembly and Micellization of a Dual Thermoresponsive Supramolecular Pseudo-Block Copolymer).
Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and Ruhr-Universität Bochum have developed a flexible and efficient new process for the separation of enantiomers. Enantiomer separation is indispensable for the production of many pharmaceuticals.
The real-time imaging of dynamic processes within living cells is crucial in order to understand biological functions in detail. This is particularly important in the field of targeted drug delivery, which relies on specific interactions of nanoparticles inside cells. Fluorescence imaging using green fluorescent protein (GFP) is a commonly used technique for observing interactions in live cells, but the GFP approach cannot be used to track the position and orientation of individual molecules or nanoparticles.
Fluidigm Corporation announced today a collaboration with BD Biosciences, a segment of BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), to co-host a public seminar series on the isolation and analysis of single cells. Entitled "A Powerful Technique for Single-Cell Analysis", the public seminar series will showcase cell isolation using the BD FACSAria ™ III Cell Sorter and analysis using the Fluidigm BioMark™ HD System.
New research suggests that currently available types of synthetic skin may now be good enough to imitate animal skin in laboratory tests, and may be on their way to truly simulating human skin in the future.
Focusing on interdisciplinary research is now leading to breakthroughs in bio nanotechnology research. A new method for drug development has become a reality.
Engineering researchers the University of Southern California have made a significant breakthrough in the use of nanotechnologies for the construction of a synthetic brain. They have built a carbon nanotube synapse circuit whose behavior in tests reproduces the function of a neuron, the building block of the brain.
A biotech publisher across the world, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN) reports that the decrease in the sample sizes to still smaller sizes has led to the development of advanced mass spectrometry instrumentation.
This project aimed at studying local genotoxicity of fine and ultrafine particles in lung epithelial cells by evaluating the current literature and by using an immunohistochemical approach on existing lung tissue samples from (nano)particle-exposed animals.
In its opinion on toxicity aspects of nano silver, the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) had recommended to waive the use of nano silver in foods and articles of daily use until the data situation allows for a final assessment of the health risks. Mainly industry objected to this assessment by BfR that enough data were available for the evaluation of the health risks of nano silver in consumer products and foods. For that reason BfR had invited experts from research and science as well as representatives of associations and industry to a workshop in order to discuss existing risks and possible options for a comprehensive consumer protection. "The discussion confirmed the words of caution of BfR", said BfR President Professor Dr. Dr. Andreas Hensel, "because the situation continues to be characterised by the fact that not enough secured scientific findings about the specific effects of nano-sized silver particles are available."
A research team at the Phelps County Regional Medical Center (PCRMC) has created a borate glass nanofiber material, which could help heal long-standing wounds in venous stasis wound patients. Clinical tests of the material were recently conducted at a health care center in Rolla, Missouri.
As well as organic structures, mineral structures also play an important role in living organisms. You don't even have to go as far as seashells or the artful silica scaffolds of diatoms; a glimpse into your own body will do. Our bones and teeth are made of the mineral hydroxyapatite.
To find our way, we use maps. Cells use "chemical maps" to find the way: they orient themselves by following concentration gradients of attractants or repellants. David H. Gracias and a team at Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, USA) have now developed a clever new method to produce three-dimensional patterns of chemical concentration gradients in vitro--with previously unattainable versatility and precision in both space and time.
Many illnesses are now being linked to particular patterns of mutations in an individual's DNA. However, the search for these patterns, known as haplotypes, is generally a slow and painstaking process. Yongyong Shi and colleagues from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China have now shown how gold nanoparticles can be used to turn haplotyping into a high-throughput process.
Bio-conjugated nanoparticles are important analytical tools with emerging biological and medical applications. Especially gold nanoparticles are of increasing interest for nanobiotechnology research and applications because of their high acceptance level in living systems and the fact that they are fairly easily conjugated with functional molecules.
On Friday, September 16, 2011, Stefan W. Hell, head of the Department of NanoBiophotonics at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, received the Gothenburg Lise Meitner Prize "for his groundbreaking development of light microscopy and its applications in biological settings". The prize is awarded annually by Fysicum, a collaboration of the faculties of Physics of the Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
Penn researchers have helped develop a nanotech device that combines carbon nanotubes with olfactory receptor proteins, the cell components in the nose that detect odors.
Researchers from the DGF-Centre for Functional Nanostructures (CFN) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology have succeeded in growing cells on three-dimensional structures ("Two-Component Polymer Scaffolds for Controlled Three-Dimensional Cell Culture").
Haag-Streit UK has developed a new surgical microscope called MÖLLER ALLEGRA 590. The microscope has several integrated features that enable it to serve the dual-purpose of being applicable for ophthalmic and ENT surgery. It can be used in hospitals, day clinics and surgical centres, especially in small clinics or hospitals with insufficient space.
Health Discovery Corporation, a molecular diagnostics leader in the use of patent protected advanced mathematical techniques for personalized medicine, has entered into an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with NeoGenomics, Inc. for laboratory developed tests in the Field of hematopoietic and solid tumor cancers excluding breast cancer, which was previously licensed to Quest Diagnostics and Smart Personalized Medicine and excluding cancer of the retina which was previously committed to Retinalyze, LLC. HDC retains all rights to in-vitro diagnostic (IVD) test kit development in cancer. In addition, HDC's pre-existing licenses remain in effect.
Scientists at the Centre of Cancer Biomedicine at the Norwegian Radium Hospital are the first to show that uptake and accumulation of nanoparticles in cells can disrupt important intracellular transport pathways.
Three-dimensional imaging of a cell will help understand the cellular structure and their functions in the cells more in detail. The lack of the right techniques in cell microscopy has inhibited scientists from having a deeper look into the cells microstructures and inside the cells.
The Hiden CATLAB thermal microreactor system is just released with the new CATsoft LabVIEW-based operating program to further optimise and simplify operation in both Quality Control and R&D applications.
A research team at the Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque has revealed the power of a high-resolution microscopy technique named Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy (STORM) that can capture multiple molecules in living immune cells at the same time.
The Research Council of Norway's Large-scale Programmes Functional Genomics (FUGE) and Nanotechnology and New Materials (NANOMAT) are a success, according to the recently-concluded external evaluations of the two programmes.
A new type of lab has been created to utilize near-atomic resolution microscopy and other structural biology technologies to help accelerate important medical discoveries relating to global health challenges, such as cancer and HIV/AIDS.
Recent studies have shown that the heart contains cardiac stem cells that can contribute to regeneration and healing during disease and aging. However, little is known about the molecules and pathways that regulate these cells. Now, a new study utilizing a heart failure model is providing insight into one way to coax the cardiac stem cells into repairing the damaged heart.
More than 2,000 years after Archimedes found a way to determine the density of a king's crown by measuring its mass in two different fluids, MIT scientists have used the same principle to solve an equally vexing puzzle -- how to measure the density of a single cell.
Conventional diagnostic tools often cannot detect many cancers, Alzheimer's and other life-threatening diseases early enough to provide effective treatment. But nanotechnology, which is revolutionizing electronics and other fields, promises to similarly transform medicine, particularly when it comes to identifying illnesses more quickly.
It's not just what's inside the cell that counts; its surroundings are important too. For example, the extracellular matrix plays an important role in connective tissue and cartilage, as well as the growth and regeneration of bones.
The Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN), is pleased to announce that its disease diagnostics technology, the MicroKit, has won the Silver Award at the Asian Innovation Awards 2011 organized by The Wall Street Journal Asia. The result was announced yesterday evening at the awards ceremony held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong, which was officiated by Sir John Major, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The Asian Innovation Awards recognize innovations that break with conventional processes in creative ways.
The interaction of materials with biological tissues and organisms and their adaptation to them play an important role in the development of implants. The term biocompatibility is used to describe a material's capability to exist in harmony with body tissue. The revision rate of implant materials used in clinical practice is sometimes as high as 10 per cent. This is mainly due to the formation of wear particles or the accumulation of corrosion products in the tissue surrounding the implant. The major reason for both these occurrences is the difference in the surface and volume characteristics of the implant and the organism as well as the inability of the implant to adapt to the organism.
Proteins play a vital role in all metabolic activities of cells such as immune protection, cellular response, and enzymatic reactions. Life science research mostly deals with protein concentration measurement.
Seven new research projects on regenerative medicine and nanomedicine received $16 million in funding. The studies, co-funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), were announced today at the University of Toronto by Dr. Colin Carrie, Member of Parliament for Oshawa; Dr. Jane Aubin, Scientific Director of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis; Mr. Gilles Leclerc, Director General, Space Exploration at the Canadian Space Agency; and Professor Peter Lewis, Associate Vice President (Research) at the University of Toronto.
There's a wealth of health information hiding in the human immune system. Accessing it, however, can be very challenging, as the many and complex roles that the immune system plays can mask the critical information that is relevant to addressing specific health issues. Now research led by scientists from the California Institute of Technology has shown that a new generation of microchips developed by the team can quickly and inexpensively assess immune function by examining biomarkers--proteins that can reflect the response of the immune system to disease--from single cells.
Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have conducted studies on the surface arrangement of dental implants both at the micro and nano level to enable speedy healing of patients.
Indiana University scientists have solved a perplexing mystery regarding one of the body's main energy storage molecules, in the process shedding light on a possible route to treatment of a rare but deadly disease in teenagers.
Imagine a battlefield medic or emergency medical technician providing first aid with a special wad of cottony glass fibers that simultaneously slows bleeding, fights bacteria (and other sources of infection), stimulates the body's natural healing mechanisms, resists scarring, and-because it is quickly absorbed by surrounding tissue - may never have to be removed in follow-up care.
Regenerative medicine, in particular the area of tissue regeneration, is seeing a rapidly growing field of novel biomaterials that can act as bioactive scaffolds that induce tissue regeneration; that is in contrast to the more traditional concept of passively accepted implant materials.
Which is better, a quick vertical jab on the buttock or the delicately soft entry of a blood sample? Waiting to find out "for what", some are already wondering "how" to use those tiny "molecular syringes" which are carbon nanotubes. With a diameter of less than one millionth of a millimetre (nanometre) and a maximum length of just a few millimetres, the first use that springs to mind when we think of this ethereal tubes - the smallest ever made by man - is as potential needles for injecting drugs or genes into sick cells. And if a syringe it is, we had better start thinking about how to use them. A group of researchers at the Ciamician department of the University of Bologna (Unibo, Italy) has no doubt about it. The easiest and most natural way of penetrating a cell membrane with a carbon nanotube, in its simplest form, is at an angle which is almost flat against the membrane surface. Just as a nurse does to "find" a vein.
Organisms, such as algae and barnacles, sticking to the lower structure of ships are increasing the required propulsive power. It is estimated that ships' fuel consumption could be reduced by up to forty percent by removing those organisms. Erosive systems containing biocides are mainly used for this purpose. However, the use of eco-friendly alternatives such as silicon based fouling release coatings, nearly all enhanced with an oil additive, have increased lately. Researchers at GE Global Research Center in the U.S. have shown that organisms react differently to the various silicone fouling release coatings, and coating type crossed with oil type is very important when it comes to establishing an organism's attachment strength magnitude.
IntelliCell BioSciences has inked an exclusive distribution and sale deal with Millipore to supply and sell Millipore's guava flow cytometry system into the field of stromal vascular fraction (SVF).
IntelliCell BioSciences, a regenerative medicine company, declared that Millipore has conducted a flow cytometry study of IntelliCell's technology. A division of Merck, Millipore offers advanced technologies, services, and tools for biopharmaceutical manufacturing and bioscience research.
An interdisciplinary team from Canada's National Institute for Nanotechnology and the University of Alberta has developed a new chemical bonding procedure that can combine new operations to stainless steel and mold it as a useful substance for implanted biomedical devices.
CRANN, the Science Foundation Ireland funded nanoscience research institute, based at Trinity College Dublin, has today announced a new commercial partnership worth over €130,000 with Merck Millipore, a biotech and pharmaceutical company based in Cork. As part of the research programmes, CRANN will assist Merck Millipore to further develop the nanostructures of their products' artificial membranes, that are widely used for medical and diagnostic devices, and to deliver new products with improved membrane performances. Artificial membranes are used in a wide array of products such as lab filtration devices, antibody screening kits and blood typing products.
According to a study, reported at the American Headache Society's annual meet, a unique formulation of indomethacin shows a faster absorption rate than a normal formulation.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has released ISO/TS 80004-7:2011 which is applicable to the use of nanotechnologies in medical diagnostics and therapeutics.
Kadmon Pharmaceuticals LLC, and Nano Terra, Inc., today announced that they have entered into an agreement under which Kadmon has been granted a perpetual, worldwide exclusive license to three novel, clinical-stage product candidates owned by Nano Terra as well as rights to Nano Terra's drug discovery platform, Pharmacomer™ Technology. The product candidates and technology platform will be transferred to a newly formed joint venture, NT Life Sciences ("NT Life"), co-owned by Kadmon and Nano Terra, which will act as the licensor and recipient of any licensing or royalty fees subject to the agreement. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Researchers have demonstrated a new imaging tool for tracking structures called carbon nanotubes in living cells and the bloodstream, which could aid efforts to perfect their use in biomedical research and clinical medicine.
The rapidly growing field of exosomes and microvesicles is highlighted in a new paper in NanoMedicine. Titled "Sizing and phenotyping of cellulars vesicles using Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis", it has been authored by a team led by Professors Ian Sargent and Paul Harrison.
Tissue engineering pursues the aim of replacing natural tissue after injuries and illnesses with implants which enable the body to regenerate itself with the patient's own cells. So that tissue can be produced to replicate the body's natural tissue, knowledge of the interaction between cells in a three-dimensional framework and the growth conditions for complete regeneration is essential. Using a special laser technique, research scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT and other Fraunhofer Institutes have succeeded in producing hybrid biomimetic matrices. These serve as a basis for scaffold and implant structures on which the cells can grow effectively.
Over a two-year period, various European research groups have debated the future of synthetic biology in the TARPOL ("Targeting environmental pollution with engineered microbial Systems ŕ la carte") project. An intense discussion on concepts and terminology has taken place and common databases have been created. The partners also launched an advanced training programme on synthetic biology and, after identifying the needs and priorities, developed an action plan for the European Union in this new field of science and technology.
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Max Planck Society and the Wellcome Trust announced today that they are to support a new, top-tier, open access journal for biomedical and life sciences research.
Leica Microsystems, a leading global designer and producer of precision optical systems, and Definiens, the leading Health Image Intelligence™ company, today announced a co-marketing agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, Definiens and Leica will cooperatively market their complementary products and host joint workshops and educational events. Customers will benefit from streamlined high-content image analysis, allowing them to better identify and understand pathways and mechanisms.
Leica Microsystems and Molecular Devices have launched the next generation of Leica MM AF imaging systems, a product line that combines Leica Microsystems' leading microscopy technology and Molecular Devices' latest MetaMorph® NX Software.
Leonardo Biosystems, Inc. and NanoMedical Systems, Inc., two emerging drug delivery companies, today announced that they have signed a development contract in which NMS will develop and establish a commercial process to manufacture nanoporous silicon particles for Leonardo's multi-stage drug delivery system.
Grenoble-based CEA-Leti and InfiniScale have signed a multi-year joint venture to concentrate on process-variability monitoring in aggressive technologies such as SOI sub-28nm systems.
Market leaders in temperature controlled microscopy, Linkam Scientific Instruments announce the use of their THMS600 temperature stage at the Leiden University Medical Center to aid the cryo-study of biological specimens.
Market leaders in temperature controlled microscopy, Linkam Scientific Instruments, have been chosen by the Physics Department of the University of Liverpool to study the effects of controlling stresses applied during the growth of collagen secreted from human fibroblast cells.
Lipids are the main component of the outermost membrane of cells. Their role is to seperate the inner and outer media of the cell and prevent any ionic current between these two media. Because of this last property, lipid layers can be thought of as good ultra-thin insulators that could be used in the development of electronic devices. So far though, because of their inherent instability in air, their use in advanced processes has been limited. This might change, though, since in 2010 researchers in France have shown the possibility to stabilize by polymerization a lipid monolayer with a thickness of 2.7 nm directly at the surface of H-terminated silicon surface therefore opening a whole new world of possibilities of the use of these layers.
Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a faster, easier way to create microelectrodes, for use in microfluidic devices, by using liquid metal. Microfluidic devices manipulate small amounts of fluid and have a wide variety of applications, from testing minute blood samples to performing advanced chemical research.
Liquidia Technologies today announced the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has made a $10 million program-related investment (PRI) in the company to support the development and commercialization of safer and more effective vaccines and therapeutics. This follows recent announcements of the first Liquidia clinical trial of its lead seasonal flu candidate (LIQ001) and a collaborative agreement with the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI).
Nanostart-holding MagForce AG, a leading medical technology company focusing on nanomedicine in oncology and Delrus Inc., a leading Russian medical product distribution company, announced today the signing of a Letter of Intent between the two companies.
An Oregon State University team has discovered a method on the usage of magnetic nanobeads to track chemical and biological agents that could be applicable in bioterrorism, medical diagnostics, environmental control, and water and food safety. The portable sensor could deliver a diagnostic laboratory on a single chip when fully developed.
Researchers have found a way to turn mouse embryonic stem cells into sperm. This finding, reported in the journal Cell in a special online release on August 4th, opens up new avenues for infertility research and treatment. A Kyoto University team has coaxed mouse embryonic stem cells into sperm precursors, called primordial germ cells (PGCs), and shown that these cells can give rise to healthy sperm. The researchers say that such in vitro reconstitution of germ cell development represents one of the most fundamental challenges in biology.
Molecular weight and molecular weight distribution measurements are a basic necessity in studying the synthesis of the novel polymers being carried out by researchers at the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh.
Swapping the chemical groups that originally coat iron oxide nanoparticles and making the particles soluble in biological solvents shows great promise for medical applications, such as drug delivery and contrast agents, according to a recent publication by University of Alabama engineers and scientists highlighted in Nature ("Chemistry: Iron nanoparticles into blood").
With over 40 years of progressive technology in manufacturing cuvettes and flow cells NSG Precision Cells meets the needs of today's laboratory scientists in price as well as quality. Providing advanced technology NSG Precision Cells delivers one of the most custom designed flow cells on the market.
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have turned a benign virus into an engineering tool for assembling structures that mimic collagen, one of the most important structural proteins in nature. The process they developed could eventually be used to manufacture materials with tunable optical, biomedical and mechanical properties.
In the emerging field of tissue engineering, scientists encourage cells to grow on carefully designed support scaffolds. The ultimate goal is to create living structures that might one day be used to replace lost or damaged tissue, but the manufacture of appropriately detailed scaffolds presents a significant challenge that has kept most tissue engineering applications confined to the research lab
A recent RNCOS research report titled, 'Nanotechnology Market Forecast to 2013', states that the global nanomedicine market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 13% in 2009 through 2013.
Having the ability to quickly analyze blood proteins in cardiac patients can mean the difference between life and death. There are several methods for testing blood proteins in hospitals. Some methods involve laboratory testing, large volume blood samples and medical expertise — a time-consuming and costly process that can endanger the lives of heart attack patients. Other methods involve handheld blood testing devices, which are easy to operate and require only finger-prick blood samples. However, the sensitivity of these devices also tends to be much lower.
Ultrasmall particles are poised to become central to biomedical applications such as drug delivery and photodynamic therapies. Semiconductor nanoparticles called quantum dots are particularly promising for biological imaging, having size-tunable light emission and excellent photostability. The development of such clinical applications, however, hinges on understanding how such nanoparticles interact with and penetrate living cells. A research team led by Hongda Wang from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Changchun, China, has now developed a method to measure these interaction forces using atomic force microscopy.
A Stevens Institute of Technology Senior Design team of David Barth, Johanna Heureaux, Brian Pilapil, Philip Ponce de Leon, and Ken Zhao, supervised by associate professor of mechanical engineering Dr. Eui-Hyeok Yang, have developed a biomedical implant that can be used to deliver intraocular pressure relief.
Jennifer T. Bernhard, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign says that of late, antennae have been developed through screen printing, inkjet printing, and microfluidics filled with liquid metal in simple patterns, including dipoles and loops.
The neurosurgeon-to-be, a student at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, also is pursuing a doctorate in biomedical engineering. And at 29, he recently started his own company, NanoMed LLC, aimed at revolutionizing the surgical mesh used in operating rooms worldwide.
Float a drop of fatty acid on water and the fat molecules spread out. The water-loving acid 'heads' sit on the surface and the water-hating fatty 'tails' stick up into the air. Curl the film up to form a sphere and you have a micelle. Making micelles is not new, but creating micelles with highly controlled surfaces containing functional nanoparticles is of current interest for drug delivery applications.
The control of infectious diseases such as the 2009 H1N1 pandemic influenza hinges on handy analytical tools that can rapidly and accurately identify infected patients at the doctor's office or at an airport. For this reason, there has been much interest in technologies that could enable replacement of the bulky instruments used at present with point-of-care testing devices. Linus Tzu-Hsiang Kao and co-workers at the A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics and the Genome Institute of Singapore have now developed a silicon-based microfluidic system that is able to sense and differentiate the H1N1 virus from other seasonal influenza strains in ultrasmall specimens ("Multiplexed detection and differentiation of the DNA strains for influenza A (H1N1 2009) using a silicon-based microfluidic system").
PositiveID declared that its recently acquired auxiliary company, MicroFluidic Systems (MFSI), has qualified and submitted a proposal for a government contract. The contract raises the company's potential government contracts to more than $37 million. PositiveID develops medical technologies for clinical diagnostics, diabetes management and bio-threat monitoring. MFSI produces systems for sample preparation and biological testing.
Researchers at National Nanotechnology Center (NANOTEC) in Thailand have discovered that using microfluidization has an effect on the structure and thermal properties of cassava starch-water suspension (20% w/w).
Scientists at The University of Nottingham are developing microscopic organic medical imaging systems to support a new generation of breakthrough treatments for currently incurable diseases and chronic life-threatening illnesses.
Midatech Biogune, an auxiliary company of the Midatech Group, has declared that it has received an Investigational Medicinal Products (IMP) License to produce nanoparticles of clinical quality at its advanced facility in Bilbao, Spain. The company received the IMP License from the Spanish Medicines Agency. The company designs, develops, and produces nanomedicines.
Midatech Ltd., a global leader in the design, development, synthesis and manufacture of nanomedicines, announced it has received Swissmedic approval to start the First-in-Human clinical trial with insulin-coated gold nanoparticles, which will be coordinated through its Swiss subsidiary PharMida AG.
Researchers at Delft University of Technology and the University of Basel have established a biomimetic nanopore that provides a unique test and measurement platform for the way that proteins move into a cell's nucleus.
A research team from MIT, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute and the University of California, San Diego, developed a new kind of drug delivery system wherein a first nanoparticle wave targets the tumor and then calls for a much bigger second wave to infuse the cancer drugs.
Alice A. Chen, a biomedical engineer and graduate student in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences & Technology (HST) and Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), today received the prestigious $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for her innovative applications of microtechnology to study human health and disease. A fearless problem solver with a passion for mentorship, Chen is honored alongside three 2011 $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Collegiate Student Prize winners from across the nation.
Bleeding out on the battlefield--far from the trauma wards and triage units that might save their lives--is a scenario that soldiers simply have to live with (and try like hell to avoid). But thanks to a nanoscale breakthrough at MIT, the chances of it happening could be significantly reduced. Researchers there have created a nanoscale coating that can stop bleeding nearly instantaneously using a clotting agent already found naturally in blood.
Xagenic Inc., a privately held molecular diagnostics company developing a new technology for decentralized, rapid diagnostic testing, today announced the close of a Series A financing totaling $10 million. The financing was co-led by CTI Life Sciences Fund (CTI) and the Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund (OETF) with significant participation by QIAGEN N.V..
Flies that display courtship behaviour at the press of a button, worms made to wriggle by remote control: since the dawn of optogenetics, scientists can turn nerve cells on and off using pulses of light. A research team at the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics in Frankfurt am Main has developed a molecular light switch that makes it possible to control cells more accurately than ever before.
A team of scientists from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and Weill Cornell Medical College has shed light on the molecular workings of transporter proteins, molecular machines embedded in the cell membranes of neurons that modulate the transfer of signals between cells and recycle neurotransmitters.
Molecular Profiles, a leading pharmaceutical development service provider, today announced that it has been awarded a Queen's Award for Enterprise 2011 in the Innovation category for its nanoPASS™ (nanoscale Predictive Analytical Screening Solution) service platform. This novel analytical approach improves the development of new pharmaceuticals by exploiting the latest advances in nanotechnology to yield key analytical data from minute quantities of potential drug candidates and then predicting those candidates that are most likely to make it to market. It helps customers to substantially reduce R&D and production costs and enables earlier introduction of new medicines to market benefiting both industry and patients.
A technique for real-time monitoring of the galvanic replacement reaction between silver nanowires and aqueous gold salt solutions using in situ flow-cell transmission X-ray microscopy has been developed by scientists in the Center for Nanoscale Materials Nanophotonics Group and the Advanced Photon Source X-Ray Science Division.
Nano-sized molecular motors that exist in the hair cells of the inner ear sense the vibrations of all sounds, whether loud like heavy metal being ground together or subtle and soothing sounds like those of the ocean.
Combining the unique optical properties and potential for surface functionality of silicon nanostructures with the electronic properties of quantum dots offers exciting prospects for biological and optoelectronic applications. In particular, silicon nanowires coated with metal nanoparticles are known to display enhanced optical properties that could be used as the basis for more-efficient, longer-lasting biological sensors.
Research teams at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and the University of Texas at Dallas have deployed a three-dimensional cell imaging method to examine complicated spatial-temporal dynamics of protein transport. The study will offer a solution to this issue in cell biology.
Ordinary human cells reprogrammed as induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) may ultimately revolutionize personalized medicine by creating new and diverse therapies unique to individual patients. But important and unanswered questions have persisted about the safety of these cells, in particular whether their genetic material is altered during the reprogramming process.
Nano Terra, Inc., a leading surface engineering and nanotechnology co-development company, today announced it is acquiring Surface Logix, Inc., a drug development company founded by renowned Harvard scientist Professor George Whitesides. Surface Logix has made significant breakthroughs in enhancing the molecular functionality of pharmaceuticals and advancing several drug candidates.
Microalgae are photosynthetic organisms that appeared on Earth more than three billion years ago. Diatoms, Euglena and other members of this family typically inhabit in the sea or fresh water, and possess a very simple, unicellular form. Some of them are even able to move using tiny appendages known as flagella. Perhaps the easiest and simplest example for use in scientific experiments for school children, algae are also in high demand for next-generation industrial research and development as a raw material for the production of biofuel.
Jacob (Koby) Scheuer, a researcher at the Tel Aviv University (TAU) of Electrical Engineering, Israel, has designed a nano- gyroscope. An optic-fiber nano-sensor had been designed four years earlier, together with an optic gyroscope that operates in combination with the sensor. The system could be used in surgical applications, communications, or virtual reality.
The University of York research team at the Department of Chemistry has created artificial molecules that can attach the chemical drug heparin that could replace protamine.
NanoBio® Corporation today announced the initiation of two Phase 3 multicenter trials evaluating NB-001 as a topical treatment for cold sores, a step forward in their OTC licensing agreement with GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare.
NanoBio® Corporation announced today that data from its ferret influenza vaccine study of NB-1008 have been published in the July 2011 issue of Clinical Vaccine Immunology by the American Society of Microbiology. Data generated from the study demonstrate the robust antigen-sparing properties of NB-1008 and provided the necessary validation to move immediately into human studies. A Phase 1a study of NB-1008 was subsequently completed in 2010, showing NB-1008 was well-tolerated while inducing both mucosal and systemic immunity following intranasal vaccination.
NanoBio Corporation today announced a preclinical collaboration with a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., focused on the development of a vaccine for Respiratory Syncytial Virus.
A recent study has demonstrated that doctors may soon have a tool for identifying orthopedic prostheses that are becoming loose after total joint replacement surgery, the most common reason joint replacements fail. The study shows that a minute molecule designed with novel properties can be used to identify patients who are at risk for failure and potentially deliver drugs to stop this process.
Scientists have developed a way to transform ordinary sand -- a mainstay filter material used to purify drinking water throughout the world -- into a "super sand" with five times the filtering capacity of regular sand. The new material could be a low-cost boon for developing countries, where more than a billion people lack clean drinking water, according to the report in the ACS journal Applied Materials & Interfaces ("Engineered Graphite Oxide Materials for Application in Water Purification").
If blood vessels are narrowed by deposits in the veins, a blockage of the veins may be caused. A thrombosis forms, which can lead to a cardiac infarction.
Nanocopoeia, Inc. a drug delivery company developing a nanotechnology-enabled portfolio of therapeutic products and the Saint Paul College announce the signing of an agreement for access to the college's laboratory space, and SEM analytical testing equipment.
This conference -- Nanodiagnostics and Nanotherapeutics: Building Research Ethics & Oversight -- will present the first systematic and comprehensive recommendations and analysis on protecting human participants in research on nanomedicine products, including drugs, devices, and gene therapy using nano-vectors. Nanomedicine research in human subjects is at the forefront of new challenges to research ethics and oversight posed by emerging advanced technologies, including uncertainty about how to assess risks to participants, researchers, lab workers, the environment, and bystanders who may be exposed to nanomaterials in the course of research.
Fluorescent nanoparticles have many potential applications in areas ranging from medicine and biology to material science and even environmental protection. Organic dyes and fluorescent proteins are two types of molecules often used as fluorescent probes; however, the detrimental photophysical properties of these molecules, such as photobleaching and blinking, inevitably restrict their applications for long-term in vitro or in vivo observations.
Dean Ho, who is an associate professor of biomedical and mechanical engineering at Northwestern University, says a carbon atom known as a nanodiamond could provide a drug delivery system to treat difficult cancers.
On any battlefield, communication is key -- troops must be able to communicate their own locations and that of their target, so everyone knows exactly where to bring the fight. MIT researchers are bringing this strategy to the war on cancer, training swarms of cancer-fighting nanoparticles to communicate to do their jobs more effectively.
A team of Nanoengineers at the University of California have made a groundbreaking invention of a biomaterial that is similar to human tissue. Due to the similarity to human tissue, the new material is suitable for repairing damaged human tissue. Shaochen Chen, a professor in the Nanoengineering department, is positive that artificially created tissues such as this would show more compatibility with the natural tissues.
Nanofilm and SDG, Inc., two Ohio-based nanotechnology companies, today announced the signing of a comprehensive joint development and licensing agreement to develop and commercialize nano-formulas that combine the two companies' technologies. Among the planned projects is development of technology to control the release and toxicity of bio-active agents at the nano-scale. Potential applications include longer lasting anti-bacterial surface treatments.
STAAR Surgical recently received the CE Mark approval for its nanoFLEX Collamer Single Piece IOL injected by a 2.2mm slit with the nanoPOINT Injector System.
NanoInk's® Nano BioDiscovery™ Division announced today the launch of a new instrument system for nanoscale protein analysis and discovery. Coupling powerful array deposition techniques with the latest generation of fluorescent detection technologies, the NanoArray Assay System™ is a user friendly, affordable desktop unit that can quickly and cost-effectively integrate into any proteomic lab. The platform is based on NanoInk's patented, tip-based Dip Pen Nanolithography® (DPN®) technology, which can create highly reproducible protein arrays over millimeter areas with nanometer precision and then fluorescently image these nanoarrays at high resolution.
NanoInk's Nano BioDiscovery Division offers the NanoArray Assay System, an advanced array-based device systems, assay kits and contract services for protein studies at the nanoscale.
NanoInk declared the release of a new device, the NanoArray Assay System, for nanoscale protein discovery and analysis. The NanoArray Assay System is an easy-to-use, economical desktop unit that can be installed in a proteomic lab in a fast and cost-effective manner.
The NanoKTN has announced that in partnership with the HealthTech and Medicines KTN, FCO Science & Innovation Network and the Swiss Embassy London, will today be taking a mission of the UK's leading companies and academics applying nanotechnology to healthcare, to visit the centres of research excellence in Geneva/Lausanne, Basel and Zurich in Switzerland.
Companies in UK are planning to visit Switzerland's centers of excellence. The NanoKTN along with partners FCO Science & Innovation Network, Health Tech and Medicines KTN and the Swiss Embassy London would go on a mission along with several leading companies and academicians who utilize nanotechnology in the healthcare sector on a four day visit to the centers of research excellence in Lausanne/Geneva, Zurich and Basel in Switzerland.
A quick, inexpensive and highly sensitive test that identifies disease markers or other molecules in low-concentration solutions could be the result of a Cornell-developed nanomechanical biosensor, which could potentially help with early stage disease detection.
Early diagnosis and accurate drug delivery are vital to effective cancer therapy. Jin Suck Suh from Yonsei University and colleagues from a number of institutes in Korea have now developed a new type of particle that can achieve both: diagnosing cancer cells and delivering targeted therapeutic agents ("pH-Triggered Drug-Releasing Magnetic Nanoparticles for Cancer Therapy Guided by Molecular Imaging by MRI").
Liquidia Technologies today announced it has entered into a collaborative agreement with PATH, a global health nonprofit organization, to conduct preclinical proof-of-concept studies on a next generation pneumococcal vaccine that could potentially allow for broadened efficacy and manufacturing efficiencies and result in greater access of such a vaccine to a global population.
A new physical form of proteins developed by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin could drastically improve treatments for cancer and other diseases, as well as overcome some of the largest challenges in therapeutics: delivering drugs to patients safely, easily and more effectively.
A class of engineered nanoparticles--gold-centered spheres smaller than viruses--has been shown safe when administered by two alternative routes in a mouse study led by investigators at the Stanford University Medical School. This marks the first step up the ladder of toxicology studies that, within a year and a half, could yield to human trials of the tiny agents for detection of colorectal and possibly other cancers.
Biodegradable polymer nanoparticles that can punch holes through the cell membranes of microbes could offer a new way to treat people infected with multidrug-resistant bacteria.
Micelles--nanoparticles with a core--shell structure--are ideal vehicles for targeted drug delivery and have the potential to revolutionize the treatment of diseases such as cancer. They come in a wide range of sizes, but most have low loading capacity, meaning they can only carry a small amount of a drug, and dissociate rapidly in the bloodstream upon contact with proteins, which can prevent the drug from reaching the intended targets.
Single nanoparticles that integrate multiple functions, such as biosensing and drug delivery, are important for rapid, cost-effective medical diagnosis and treatment. A research team led by Jinlong Zhang and Lingzhi Wang from the East China University of Science and Technology in Shanghai has now developed a system to track drug transport and release in real-time using silica-based spherical nanoparticles that encase drug molecules and emit extremely intense fluorescence ("Superbright Multifluorescent Core-Shell Mesoporous Nanospheres as Trackable Transport Carrier for Drug").
Performing well regulated neural experiments is difficult because the environment that the culture is in has great effect on the functionality of neurons. In order to isolate individual neurons from the solution hosting them, researchers at University of Wisconsin-Madison have created semiconductor nanomembrane tubing to house these cells in a 3D structure. Because the material is compatible with electronic componentry, the new technology may be very useful in future brain implants and brain-computer interfaces.
In recent years, researchers have worked to develop more flexible, functional prosthetics for soldiers returning home from battlefields in Afghanistan or Iraq with missing arms or legs. But even new prosthetics have trouble keeping bacteria from entering the body through the space where the device has been implanted.
Molecular "motors" are at the root of most biological movement. They propel cell components, whole cells, and even our muscles on command. Barbara Imperiali and a team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, USA), the University of Virginia (Charlottesville, USA), and the National Institutes of Health (USA) have now provided the motor protein myosin with an "on switch" that is activated by light. As the scientists report in the journal Angewandte Chemie ("Light-Triggered Myosin Activation for Probing Dynamic Cellular Processes"), this should make it possible to follow cellular processes that involve myosin in real time.
Raman spectroscopy is a powerful technique for analyzing atomic structure based on the inelastic scatter of light from molecules, with diverse applications including medical imaging and chemical sensing. Researchers have found that nanostructures can enhance the effect of Raman scattering and so improve the sensitivity of the Raman technique. Acoustic vibrations can provide further augmentation of the Raman scattering effect by exciting collective electron oscillations, known as surface plasmons, that contribute to light scatter. In particular, it has been shown that scattering might be intensified by vibrating nanoparticles alongside purpose-built resonators, but until now there has been a limited understanding of the interactions that occur during such vibrations.
New insights about how the human body interacts with nanoparticles at the protein level were published by a user team in the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in the December 2011 issue 23 of Proteomics.
A new system for delivering a drug to organ transplant patients, which could avoid the risk of harmful side effects, is being developed by scientists at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow.
New medicines containing nanoparticles are proven to have clear curative value, but complications can sometimes arise. Researchers at the Norwegian Radium Hospital in Oslo have shown how nanoparticles can interfere with the transport of vital substances in cells.
Scientists at the University of Plymouth have shown, for the first time in an animal, that nanoparticles have a detrimental effect on the brain and other parts of the central nervous system.
In an advance that could improve battlefield and trauma care, scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have used tiny particles called nanoparticles to improve survival after life-threatening blood loss. Nanoparticles containing nitric oxide (NO) were infused into the bloodstream of hamsters, where they helped maintain blood circulation and protect vital organs.
Nanopool received the 2010 Frost & Sullivan EU New Product Innovation Award for developing the novel liquid glass product in the antibacterial nanocoatings field. This product effectively serves as a secure antibacterial coating solution suitable for industrial purposes, which can be easily applied on any surface.
Dutch and Swiss researchers have developed a biomimetic nanopore that offers a sophisticated test and measurement platform for the way proteins enter the nucleus of a cell. This study provides evidence of how a biomimetic nuclear pore can be created to monitor how single proteins move across the pore. Presented in the journal Nature Nanotechnology ("Single-molecule transport across an individual biomimetic nuclear pore complex"), the study was partially supported by the EU-funded NANOSCI-EPLUS and READNA projects.
The NanoKTN is pleased to announce the date of its next NanoRegen focus group, hosted in collaboration with regeNer8 and the Chemistry Innovation and HealthTech and Medicines KTN. The event will look at the advances in nano-structured materials and scaffolds for use in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine and will provide a platform for delegates to learn about funding opportunities.
A delicate balance of atomic forces can be exploited to make nanoparticle superclusters that are uniform in size---an attribute that's important for many nanotechnology applications but hard to accomplish, University of Michigan researchers say.
MIT engineers have developed a nanoscale biological coating that can halt bleeding nearly instantaneously, an advance that could dramatically improve survival rates for soldiers injured in battle.
A floating weed that clogs waterways around the world has at least one redeeming feature: It's inspired a high-tech waterproof coating intended for boats and submarines.
Contemporary biologists and neuroscientists visualise and study cells with conventional microscopes with a spatial resolution of 1 micron or slightly less. On the other side, molecular and structural biologists reason at a molecular level where events and reactions occur at an Angstrom scale or just above. Therefore, events occurring at a submicron scale and above the single molecule dimension represent a new and unexplored perspective for Biology and Neuroscience.
Minute whiskers of nanoscale dimensions taken from sea creatures could hold the key to creating working human muscle tissue, University of Manchester researchers have discovered.
Measured in billionths of a meter, self-assembling nano-sized devices designed to carry drugs and imaging agents into the body are revolutionizing medicine by improving drug solubility and bio-distribution, providing a platform for combining targeting and imaging agents, and enabling membrane barriers to be crossed as well as making drug and imaging agent combination therapies possible.
Tyndall National Institute, UCC recently started work on collaboration of a project to create smart sensing materials that will be used in water purification and clinical diagnostics applications.
Nowadays, everyday life would be inconceivable without nanotechnology. It is also ever-present in medical technology -- both in therapy and diagnostics. Researchers from ETH Zurich have now prepared silver nanoparticles in an interdisciplinary study in such a way that they offer further potential in this field.
The Nanostart holding ItN Nanovation AG has successfully completed its capital increase with pre-emptive subscription rights against cash contributions, generating gross income for the company of €11.0 million. A total of 2,170,865 new shares were issued at a price of €5.07, increasing the share capital of the company to currently around €11.0 million, divided into the same number of shares.
A critical step in advancing medical treatment is the development of novel drug delivery methods. While a simple tablet, taken by the patient with a sip of water, may be the easiest way to administer a drug, this may not always be the most suitable.
NanoString Technologies, Inc., a privately held provider of life science tools for translational research and developer of molecular diagnostics, today announced that it has closed $20 million in a Series D round of equity financing. New investors include GE, BioMed Ventures and Henri Termeer, former Chairman and CEO of Genzyme Corporation. All previous venture investors in NanoString also participated in the financing, including Clarus Ventures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson and OVP Venture Partners.
The Center for Biophotonics Science and Technology (CBST) at UC Davis and the Boston University Photonics Center have jointly received the newest National Science Foundation (NSF) Industry/University Cooperative Research Center award. The new Center for Biophotonic Sensors and Systems (CBSS) is one of 50 such cooperative research center awards across the country and the only center focused on biophotonic sensors. The concept is a long-running NSF program designed to foster university-industry collaborations and is jointly supported by the foundation and industry.
A nanoscale biological coating could prevent battlefield deaths by halting bleeding nearly instantaneously. Developed by engineers at MIT with the assistance of Ferrosan Medical Devices A/S, the coating includes thrombin, a protein involved in blood clotting that has been used clinically for decades for topical hemostasis and wound management. The coating also contains tannic acid, a molecule found in tea.
Sildenafil citrate, commonly known as Viagra, is currently the first choice drug for erectile dysfunction but despite its success oral delivery of the drug is hampered by numerous side effects, the long delay before it starts working and the short amount of time it lasts. Researchers in Egypt think they may have a solution via nanotechnology.
Microbiology relates to nanoscience at a number of levels. Many bacterial entities are nano-machines in nature, including molecular motors like flagella and pili. Bacteria also form biofilms by the process of self-assembly. The formation of aerial hyphae by bacteria and fungi is also directed by the controlled and ordered assembly of building blocks.
Damaged articular cartilages, like the ones found in the knee joint, ordinarily demonstrate a very limited capability for self-healing. Functional restoration of diseased or damaged articular cartilage is a major clinical challenge. There have been a number of successful approaches to tissue engineered cartilage, including the use of natural and synthetic biomaterial scaffolds, allogeneic and autologous sources of mature chondrocytes, and chondroinductive growth factors. Although recent progress has been made in engineering cartilage of various shapes and sizes for cosmetic purposes, current treatments for cartilage repair are less than satisfactory, and rarely restore full function or return the tissue to its native state.
A new biomaterial designed for repairing damaged human tissue doesn't wrinkle up when it is stretched. The invention from nanoengineers at the University of California, San Diego marks a significant breakthrough in tissue engineering because it more closely mimics the properties of native human tissue.
A new company formed around Michigan State University nanotechnology promises to move speedy detection of deadly pathogens and toxins from the laboratory directly to the field.
Nanotechnology is being used in production and industrial applications in North Carolina, especially in healthcare and life sciences. Companies help apply nanotechnology in medicines and medical equipment.
A new review published in WIREs Nanomedicine and Nanobiotechnology explores how nanotechnology may be used to develop safer breast implants as an alternative to silicone rubber, minimizing health complications.
Researchers at the University of Copenhagen are behind the development of a new method that will make it possible to develop drugs faster and greener. This will lead to cheaper medicine for consumers.
Testing the effectiveness of new pharmaceuticals may get faster thanks to a new technique incorporating quantum dots developed at the University of Central Florida.
The Large-scale Programmes Functional Genomics (FUGE) and Nanotechnology and New Materials (NANOMAT) by the Research Council of Norway have recently completed external testing of the two programmes.
Philadelphia-based, Iroko Pharmaceuticals recently took over iCeutica to enhance its development of innovative, low-dose non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). According to the terms of the merger agreement, Iroko will acquire 100% of iCeutica' s shares.
The world's first prototype of a hand-held fingerprint drug testing device has been created by University of East Anglia spin-out company Intelligent Fingerprinting.
We are experiencing an unprecedented resurgence of interest in herbal healing, and 'herbal renaissance' is happening all over the globe. The Western world has begun to acknowledge the importance of traditional medicines as they symbolize safety in contrast to the allopathic medicines, which tend to produce undesirable side effects and are lacking in curative value.
A move toward smaller and smaller sample sizes is leading to a new generation of mass spectrometry instrumentation, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN). From a specific application point of view, novel nanoflow separation methodologies are ramping up the speed and precision with which scientists are able to validate biomarkers, according to the August issue of GEN.
A research team led by Dr. Xiang Wang and Professor Hans-Hermann Gerdes at the University of Bergen's Department of Biomedicine found that cells in the human body communicated through electrical signals emitted through nanotubes at high speed.
Tiny fibres used to strengthen items such as bike frames and hockey sticks could pose risks to workers who make them. Certain types of carbon nanotubes -- cylindrical molecules about one-thousandth of the width of a human hair -- could cause cancer in the lining of the lung, University of Edinburgh research shows.
A developer of nanomaterials for antiviral therapy, NanoViricides has stated that the company is financially stable and equipped with resources to enhance its drug product line by its first IND submission to the FDA.
NanoViricides, has signed a consulting agreement with Biologics Consulting Group, (BCG) in order to prepare and submit the Investigational New Drug (IND) applications to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval of its nanoviricides drug candidates to treat different viral diseases.
NanoViricides has declared that a special purpose company Inno-Haven has closed the purchase of a light industrial building where NanoViricides plans to lease a portion to house its laboratory and current good manufacturing practices (cGMP) production facilities for its nanoviricides drug candidates for the treatment of several viral diseases.
NanoViricides declared that it will lease a new area for producing nanoviricides drug candidates to fight several viral diseases. The company plans to lease the area presently and may purchase the same later from Inno-Haven if required.
NanoViricides, Inc. announced today that information about its novel, proprietary anti-virus platform technology has been published in the book Bionanotechnology II: Global Prospects. The chapter entitled "Nanoviricides - A Novel Approach to Antiviral Therapeutics" provides an in-depth presentation of the NanoViricides platform technology, evidence for how nanoviricides are believed to act plus dramatic results of nanoviricides specifically targeting certain viral diseases, such as HIV and the ocular disease, epidemic keratoconjunctivitis (EKC).
Estrogen receptor (ER) proteins play a major role in controlling the transcription of genetic information from DNA to messenger RNA in cells. Understanding how ER proteins interact with specific DNA regulatory sequences may shed new light on important physiological processes in the body, such as cell growth and differentiation, as well as the development and progression of breast cancer. Guo-Jun Zhang at the A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics and co-workers have now developed a detector that uses silicon nanowires (SiNWs) to evaluate these interactions ("Highly sensitive and reversible silicon nanowire biosensor to study nuclear hormone receptor protein and response element DNA interactions").
A team of researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), George Mason University and the University of Maryland has made nano-sized sensors that detect volatile organic compounds--harmful pollutants released from paints, cleaners, pesticides and other products--that offer several advantages over today's commercial gas sensors, including low-power room-temperature operation and the ability to detect one or several compounds over a wide range of concentrations.
UK based MAST Carbon has received such service and its new biomedical carbons will soon reach the market through the EU-funded the ProNano project. Orion Innovations is a business consultancy that provides strategic and operational support to innovators, businesses and public sector organisations in the cleantech sector. Along with fellow ProNano partner and early stage investment specialist, Angel Capital Innovations, Orion Innovations has been advising and coaching MAST Carbon for almost two years now.
Purdue University scientists have developed a method for stacking synthetic DNA and carbon nanotubes onto a biosensor electrode, a development that may lead to more accurate measurements for research related to diabetes and other diseases.
Purdue University scientists have developed a method for stacking synthetic DNA and carbon nanotubes onto a biosensor electrode, a development that may lead to more accurate measurements for research related to diabetes and other diseases.
A team of investigators from Stanford University has developed a new biosensor microchip that could significantly speed up the process of drug development. The microchips, packed with highly sensitive magnetic nanosensors, analyze how proteins bind to one another, a critical step for evaluating the effectiveness and possible side effects of a potential medication. A single centimeter-sized array of the nanosensors can simultaneously and continuously monitor thousands of times more protein-binding events than any existing sensor. The new sensor is also able to detect interactions with greater sensitivity and deliver the results significantly faster than the present "gold standard" method.
Stanford researchers have developed a new biosensor microchip that could significantly speed up the process of drug development. The microchips, packed with highly sensitive "nanosensors," analyze how proteins bind to one another, a critical step for evaluating the effectiveness and possible side effects of a potential medication.
A major milestone in microfluidics could soon lead to stand-alone, self-powered chips that can diagnose diseases within minutes. The device, developed by an international team of researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, Dublin City University in Ireland and Universidad de Valparaíso Chile, is able to process whole blood samples without the use of external tubing and extra components. The researchers have dubbed the device SIMBAS, which stands for Self-powered Integrated Microfluidic Blood Analysis System. SIMBAS appeared as the cover story March 7 in the peer-reviewed journal Lab on a Chip.
A new accessory for Malvern Instruments' Zetasizer Nano particle characterization system allows users to measure the zeta potential of surfaces in an aqueous medium on a standard instrument. Malvern's new surface zeta potential measurement cell eliminates the need to use the specialist technique of streaming potential, which requires instrumentation dedicated only to that measurement.
Researchers at RIKEN, Japan's flagship research organization, have developed a ground-breaking new aqueous reagent which literally turns biological tissue transparent. Experiments using fluorescence microscopy on samples treated with the reagent, published this week in Nature Neuroscience, have produced vivid 3D images of neurons and blood vessels deep inside the mouse brain. Highly effective and cheap to produce, the reagent offers an ideal means for analyzing the complex organs and networks that sustain living systems.
Opening up a new door in synthetic biology, a team of researchers has developed a microfluidic device that produces a continuous supply of tiny lipid spheres that are similar in many ways to a cell's outer membrane.
Karen Martinez, Head of the BioNano Group, University of Copenhagen's Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, and her team at the Nano-Science Center have integrated nanotechnologies and nanomaterials that are conventionally utilized for electric systems with single viable cells.
Thanks to a new diagnostic imaging technique, physicians now have an objective test to evaluate patients for parkinsonian syndromes, such as Parkinson's disease. Northwestern Memorial Hospital is among the first institutions in the country to offer DaTscan™, the only FDA-approved imaging agent for assessment of movement disorders. Until now, there were no definitive tests to identify the disease, forcing physicians to rely on clinical examinations to make a diagnosis. This technology allows doctors to differentiate Parkinson's from other movement disorders.
New research results that will lead to improved understandings of the impact of nanomaterials on human health and more effective strategies for detoxification of nanoparticles have recently been published in the journal Small.
What happens when living cells take up nanoparticles, those tiny entities that could offer new ways of delivering drugs into the body? A new study from researchers at UCD has tracked the progress of nanoparticles as cells divide, and their findings will help us better understand how different tissues in the body process a dose of nanoparticles.
Pro Bono Bio™ is a new international pharmaceutical company that launched today. Pro Bono Bio is the result of a three year Anglo/Russian project, developed by Celtic Pharma Holdings in London. Pro Bono Bio has ambitious growth targets that will allow it to support a unique humanitarian mission. Pro Bono Bio combines global pharma expertise from the UK with international capital and matched funding from the Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies (RUSNANO).
IEEE, the world's largest technical professional association, announced that the July/August issue of IBM Journal of Research and Development has been published and appears exclusively in the IEEE Xplore® digital library. IBM Journal of Research & Development is the #1 most-cited journal in computer science, hardware and software, according to the 2010 Thomson Reuters Journal Citation Reports, released in June 2011
To successfully document live cells and rapidly fading fluorescence specimens, a camera technology particularly designed for the purpose is indispensable. The new Leica DFC365 FX digital microscope camera from Leica Microsystems combines exceptional image quality with very high temporal resolution for rapid time-lapse recordings. The Leica DFC365 FX is setting new standards in its class enabling researchers to work efficiently, even with weakly fluorescing specimens. Equipped with a highly sensitive CCD sensor (pixel size 6.45 µm) and active Peltier cooling, it is ideal for a wide range of applications -- from basic fluorescence documentation to demanding experiments such as TIRF, FRET or structured illumination.
With the new Leica SR GSD from Leica Microsystems, scientists can now achieve resolutions far below the limit of diffraction that have never been attained before in widefield fluorescence microscopy. The system is capable of resolving details as small as 20 nanometers. This enables research of structures of single proteins and other biomolecules in cells and observation of molecular processes to gain new insights into fundamental processes of life.
The development of a new measurement technology under a research project funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the National Science Foundation is probing the structure of composite and biological materials.
Researchers are making progress in developing a system that measures the mechanical properties of living cells, a technology that could be used to diagnose human disease and better understand biological processes.
Using a new sample holder, researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have further developed a new method for imaging individual cells ("An in situ fracture device to image lipids in single cells using TOF SIMS"). This makes it possible to produce snapshots that not only show the outline of the cell's contours but also the various molecules inside or on the surface of the cell, and exactly where they are located, something which is impossible with a normal microscope.
The properties of optical stimuli need to be conveyed from the eye to the brain. To do this efficiently, the relevant information is extracted by pre-processing in the eye. For example, some of the so-called retinal ganglion cells, which transmit visual information to the brain via the optic nerve, only react to light stimuli moving in a particular direction. This direction selectivity is generated by inhibitory interneurons that influence the activity of the ganglion cells through their synapses.
Researchers can now watch molecules move in living cells, literally millisecond by millisecond, thanks to a new microscope developed by scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany. Published online today in Nature Biotechnology ("Quantitative fluorescence imaging of protein diffusion and interaction in living cells"), the new technique provides insights into processes that were so far invisible.
A new microscope invented by scientists at Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Farm Research Campus will let researchers use an exquisitely thin sheet of light -- similar to that used in supermarket bar-code scanners -- to peer inside single living cells, revealing the three-dimensional shapes of cellular landmarks in unprecedented detail. The microscopy technique images at high speed, so researchers can create dazzling movies that make biological processes, such as cell division, come alive.
Writing in the journal Nature Communications, the team have created a microscope which shatters the record for the smallest object the eye can see, beating the diffraction limit of light.
A University of Southampton nanoscientist is working on a new microsystem for more efficient testing of pharmaceutical drugs to treat diseases such as cystic fibrosis, MG (myasthenia gravis) and epilepsy.
Nanotechnology is a multidisciplinary scientific field that is currently undergoing explosive development. Nano-enhanced medicines are opening new opportunities for therapeutic delivery and targeting, technology is also allowing agents that previously could not be used effectively as conventional formulations due to poor bioavailability or drug instability to advance into clinical development. However, there are still a number of concerns remaining concerning toxicological aspects and ethical implications.
Technology has been developed within Top Institute Pharma that helps medicines be absorbed quicker into the blood and thus be more effective. Researcher Hans de Waard, who is associated with the University of Groningen, will obtain his doctorate on this subject on March 11.
A class of engineered nanoparticles -- gold-centered spheres smaller than viruses -- has been shown safe when administered by two alternative routes in a mouse study led by investigators at the Stanford University School of Medicine. This marks the first step up the ladder of toxicology studies that, within a year and a half, could yield to human trials of the tiny agents for detection of colorectal and possibly other cancers.
IBM scientists have developed a flexible, non-contact microfluidic probe made from silicon that can aid researchers and pathologists to investigate critical tissue samples accurately for drug discovery and disease diagnostics.
Blood platelets are the structural and chemical foundation of blood clotting (hemostasis) and they play a vital role in minor injuries when coagulation prevents the loss of blood at the injury site. If the proper function of these platelets gets disturbed, blood clotting can lead to thrombosis -- clots in the blood that obstruct the flow of blood through the circulatory system -- which is a leading cause of death and disability in the developed world.
Dr. Brigitte Angres and Dr. Helmut Wurst earlier worked on the development of synthetic hydrogels in 3-D cell culture at the NMI Natural and Medical Sciences Institute at the University of Tübingen in Germany, with financial support from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). In 2009, they founded the spinoff company Cellendes.
Two new, free to download, technical notes from Malvern Instruments describe the function and benefits of using the Zetasizer µV as a detector for size exclusion chromatography (SEC), focusing on its suitability for protein characterization.
Ever since an ordinary office inkjet printer had its ink cartridges swapped out for a cargo of cells about 10 years ago and sprayed out cell-packed droplets to create living tissue, scientists and engineers have never looked at office equipment in quite the same way. They dream of using a specialized bio-inkjet printer to grow new body parts for organ transplants or tissues for making regenerative medicine repairs to ailing bodies. Both these new therapies begin with a carefully printed mass of embryonic stem cells. And now there's progress on getting that initial mass of stem cells printed.
Reginald C. Farrow and Zafer Iqbal, research professors at NJIT, were awarded a patent today for an improved method of fabricating arrays of nanoscale electrical probes. Their discovery may lead to improved diagnostic tools for measuring the spatial variation of electrical activity inside biological cells.
Proving once again that it creates agile, flexible equipment capable of meeting a wide variety of needs in the industrial marketplace, Nikon Metrology, Inc. is pleased to introduce its latest stereoscopic microscope, the SMZ-745. The airtight, anti-electrostatic and anti-mold design of the microscope prevents samples from being damaged by electrostatic discharge, as well as contaminants such as dust and water. This design makes it an excellent option for use in environments where temperature and humidity are high and solid contaminants are prevalent.
National Institutes of Health Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., has announced the appointment of Mahendra S. Rao, M.D., Ph.D. as the director for the new NIH Intramural Center for Regenerative Medicine (NIH-CRM). The NIH-CRM is an initiative to create a world-class center of excellence in stem cell technology on the NIH campus, including induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), which can have applications in many systems and organs of the body. This is an initiative of the NIH Common Fund and will be administered by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS).
Empowered by a $1.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Arizona State University scientist Wayne Frasch is deciphering how one of the world's smallest molecular motors works in living cells. In the process, he is also casting light on a physics puzzle that has perplexed scientists for more than 40 years.
The National Institutes of Health will collaborate with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to develop a chip to screen for safe and effective drugs far more swiftly and efficiently than current methods, and before they are tested in humans. The chip will be loaded with specific cell types that reflect human biology. It will be designed to allow multiple different readouts that can indicate whether a particular compound is likely to be safe or toxic for humans.
A team of researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are conducting experiments to establish that the shape of stem cells can be controlled in order to make them perform the desired function without the addition of biochemical or hormonal stimulants.
National Institute of Standards and Technology and Colorado Boulder University have jointly designed a microchip, which uses microfluidics and switch controlled magnetic pulses to collect and transfer magnetic beads that have unique applications in medical diagnostics and biotechnology.
A Tyndall National Institute research team in UCC, Cork, has created a non-contact microchip sensor that could be used to track the respiratory rate without having to touch the patient.
Nordson MARCH, a company involved in plasma processing technology, launches a plasma treatment system named FlexTRAK-WF. This less-expensive, cassette-based plasma treatment system that is also automated is capable of handling five wafer sizes with minimal hardware changes.
The Research Council of Norway has granted an amount of 14 million NOK to Clavis Pharma towards the research and development of the equilibrative nucleoside transporter (hENT1) biomarker.
Self-propelled motion of engineered nanomaterials can be useful in applications such as bottom-up assembly of structures, pattern formation, microfluidic diagnostic systems, or drug delivery at specific locations. While nature has perfected nano- and microscale motor systems, movement at the nanoscale is still a massively challenging problem for nanotechnology researchers. There are various approaches to creating self-powered micro- and nanosized motors and many researchers have focused on catalytic conversion of chemical to mechanical energy -- a process that is ubiquitous in biology, powering such important and diverse processes as cell division, skeletal muscle movement, protein synthesis, and transport of cargo within cells.
Researchers at Yale University have developed a novel nanoparticle with promising applications in gene therapy, a type of medical treatment that addresses the root causes of diseases now typically treated for symptoms.
The European joint project, HCVAX, aims to develop an innovative nanotechnology-based vaccination against hepatitis C. The transnational consortium has researchers from France, Switzerland and Germany.
Neural implants have the potential to treat disorders and diseases that typically require long-term treatment, such as blindness, deafness, epilepsy, spinal cord injury, and Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. However, implantable devices have been problematic in clinical applications because of bodily reactions that limit device functioning time.
Published in WIREs Nanomedicine and Nanobiotechnology, the review titled, "Breast implants: the good, the bad and the ugly. Can nanotechnology improve implants?" explains how nanotechnology can be used to develop safer implants.
Cartilage, bone, and skin can already be regenerated in vitro, and these tissues are currently available for clinical applications. However, regeneration of more complex tissues such as the liver and pancreas has yet to be fully realized.
When unfolding a tent for the first time, you may wonder how the huge tarpaulin fits into a bag the size of a football. Biologists wonder about something similar: when a cell divides, the surface area of the cell membrane grows. Moreover, when molecules are brought from one organelle to another inside the cell, membrane-enclosed transport vesicles are formed. So that membranes can be made available quickly, they are stored within the cells in the form of nanotubes, tubular membrane structures -- similarly to a tarpaulin that has been folded together.
A research team led by Rumiana Dimova at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces has devised a mechanism to produce consistent nanotubes without applying pressure on the membrane that works without needing motor proteins.
New research finds that growing blood stem cells in the laboratory for about a week may help to overcome one of the most difficult roadblocks to successful transplantation, immune rejection. The study, published by Cell Press in the August issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, may lead to more promising therapeutic strategies for transplanting blood stem cells.
A novel way of formulating a widely used class of pain medicines may allow reduced and more tolerable doses to be administered while preserving the pain-relieving effects of higher doses, according to multiple reports presented today at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology.
Pall has included the PKP Chromatography systems and Resolute FM columns in their chromatography portfolio. The new systems enable clients from biotech, vaccine and plasma segments to quickly scale-up from the bench scale to the pilot level of production.
Paper has emerged as a focus area for researchers developing innovative techniques for printed basic electronics components. Electronic paper displays are already a commercial reality and prototypes of things like paper batteries are under development. In these applications, researchers transfer thin-films, nanoparticles or other nanostructures onto the desired substrate via various processes (see "Direct-growth fabrication for paper-based electronics").
Partec, a pioneer in flow cytometry reagents and tools, have entered into a deal with De Novo Software, a provider of analysis solutions for flow cytometry data, to sell FCS Express, a flagship product of De Novo Software, to global customers in the markets of research, clinical and pharmaceuticals.
Supplied with sufficient energy, a freight train would ride the rails as far as they go. But nature also knows systems whose dynamics suddenly turn into a kind of endless loop. Like in a hamster wheel, a train caught up in such a system would continue running, but without moving forward.
A company focusing on enhancing health and safety of inhabitants and the surrounding environment, PerkinElmer has launched Clarus SQ 8 Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometer (GC/MS), creating a unique industry standard for stability and sensitivity.
(Nanowerk Spotlight) Most applications of nanostructured materials rely on their high-aspect ratio providing them particular physical features. Another considerable advantage comes from the size compatibility of the nanomaterials with biological samples, opening new perspectives in bionics and biosensing.
PharmaNova, Inc. announces an agreement with Lacerta Bio, Inc. whereby Lacerta Bio's experienced team of business development professionals will supplement PharmaNova's team in the U.S. and U.K. to support its 2011 business growth and expansion initiatives. Emphasis will be on widening PharmaNova's partnering base for its innovative, nanoparticle technology, NovaSperse(SM) , including existing NovaSperse(SM) new product opportunities and other projects that are available from PharmaNova for licensing and further development by third parties.
The results of the Phase 2 program sponsored by Iroko Pharmaceuticals to develop novel, lower-dose formulations of a widely used class of pain medicines will be reported November 7th at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) in Chicago.
Serefex announced today that it has begun marketing a line of exterior photocatalyst nanotechnology through its master distribution agreement with Rochester Hills, MI- based Triton Technology Group.
Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have developed a new and highly efficient way to characterize the structure of polymers at the nanoscale -- effectively designing a routine analytical tool that could be used by industries that rely on polymer science to innovate new products, from drug delivery gels to renewable bio-materials.
Mesoporous materials have nanoscale pores that endow the materials with a remarkably large ratio of surface area to mass. The pores, typically 2--50 nm in size, are on a scale that allows small organic molecules to enter and react with the inner pore surfaces. This makes the materials useful for applications in catalysis and absorption.
The fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) polymer structures with controlled composition, physical properties and morphology is important for a number of applications. In tissue engineering, for example, 3D polymer scaffolds are used to grow new tissue, while in stem cell research, there is much interest in how the physical properties and morphology of a polymer support can affect cell differentiation. The formation of 3D structures has so far been performed using top-down processes in which a block of polymer is slowly etched away using a series of patterned resists. Such processes can be used to produce complex 3D structures, but require specific compatible polymers, limiting the range of physical properties that can be achieved.
Proteins are essential in almost all biological processes. The three-dimensional shape of the protein, which is essential to its function, is determined by protein folding. Foldit, which was initially funded by DARPA, is a game with an online community of 240,000 players that allows non-experts and experts alike to collaborate and solve protein folding puzzles. Solutions to these puzzles are sent to biochemistry researchers to analyze for advances in protein design prediction.
Research conducted by chemistry professor Ron Naaman of the Weizmann Institute's Chemical Physics Department in collaboration with German scientists reveals that both biologists and physicists believe quantum systems and biological nano-particles resemble apples and oranges.
Alzheimer's, Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes, Breast Cancer and Major Depression are the four theranostic clinical research targets of the new Quantum Materials Corporation and NanoAxis LLC Technology Alliance. The Alliance will develop new nanomedicine products for both diagnostic and pharmaceutical applications incorporating quantum dot technology. Quantum Materials Corp (QMC) tetrapod quantum dots (QD) and other QD semiconductor nanocrystals will serve as multiplexing platforms for NanoAxis' theranostic therapies in targeting receptors, imaging cells and tissues, and drug delivery of pharmaceutical compounds.
Quantum Materials and Nano Axis have entered into a technology alliance in order to develop quantum dot technology-based nanomedicines for the diagnosis and treatment of various major diseases such as breast cancer, Alzheimer's disease, Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and depression.
The light emitted by quantum dots is both more intense and longer lasting than that produced by the fluorescent markers commonly used in medical and biological applications. Yet these nano-scale light sources still suffer from one major drawback - they do not dissolve in water. Researchers at the University of Twente's MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology and at the A*STAR agency in Singapore have found a way to remedy this. They have developed a coating which allows quantum dots to be used inside the human body, even inside living cells.
Quantum Materials Corporation and Nanoaxis, LLC announce the formation of a technology alliance combining Quantum Materials tetrapod quantum dot mass production technology with Nanoaxis advanced research expertise and intellectual property in gene therapy biomedical nanotechnology. The aim of the alliance is to develop Tetrapod Quantum Dot based Cancer diagnostic kits and theranostic applications including Alzheimer's, Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes, Breast Cancer and Major Depression.
QuantuMDx Group Limited, a handheld diagnostics and sequencing company, today announced that it has signed an exclusive license agreement with Nanosys Inc., an advanced materials architect, for several patents and patent applications related to the use of nanostructures for biosensors.
QuantuMDx Group has declared that it has entered into an exclusive license deal with Nanosys for various patents and patent applications covering the utilization of nanostructures for the production of biosensors.
Nanomedicine faces two main challenges: controlling the synthesis of extremely small vectors containing one or several active ingredients and releasing these agents in the right place at the right time, in controlled forms and doses.
Radiological Technologies University VT, located in South Bend, Indiana is pleased to announce the approval of the first Master's of Science in Nanomedicine degree program in the country.
Rainbow Coral's division, Rainbow Biosciences has declared that it has started due diligence analysis for a possible joint venture or acquisition of n3D Biosciences, the company being a developer of an advanced nanoparticle cell-growth technology.
A research team at the Ohio State University discovered that both rat skin and artificial human skin when treated with a generic skin cream exhibited the same responses on microscopic scales. This discovery could prove beneficial in treating burn victims.
Regenerating bones with materials of natural origin that can bear a lot of weight might not be science-fiction anymore. Scientists are looking for new ways to transform complex and organized structures that already exist in nature into a device to improve bone and ligament substitution.
Modifying a protein from a plant much favored by science, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and colleagues have created a new type of genetic tag visible under an electron microscope, illuminating life in never-before-seen detail. Led by Nobel laureate Roger Tsien, PhD, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and UCSD professor of pharmacology, chemistry and biochemistry, a team of scientists radically re-engineered a light-absorbing protein from the cress plant Arabidopsis thaliana. When exposed to blue light, the altered protein produces abundant singlet oxygen, a form of molecular oxygen that can be made visible by electron microscopy (EM).
Many materials, when observed over a sufficiently long period of time, show changes in their mechanical properties. The exact course of these developments depends on the underlying microscopic mechanisms. However, the microscopic structure and the complexity of the systems make direct observation extremely difficult.
Scientists at the University at Buffalo have received $1.3 million from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to test how tiny, magnetic particles can be used to remotely control neurons in the brains of mice.
Online research company Reportlinker has released a report by the title of "Nanobiotechnology: Applications and Global Markets". For the purpose of the study BCC, which has so far analysed around 115 nanobiotechnology companies was chosen and the study was headed by John Bergin.
Research and Markets has added a new report titled "Nanobiotechnology Applications, Markets and Companies" from Jain PharmaBiotech, to its biotech market research portfolio. The applications of nanobiotechnology in the field of pharmaceuticals and other biotechnology industries will begin from the formulation, then clinical trials, efficacy of drug delivery and finally ensure its increased usage in the future.
Research and Markets has declared the inclusion of the book titled "Nanotechnologies for Solubilization and Delivery in Foods, Cosmetics and Pharmaceuticals" to its offering.
Nuclear Pore Complexes (NPCs), large protein structures which span the nuclear membrane in eukaryotic cells and mediate the exchange of materials between the nucleus and cytoplasm, play a vital role in many aspects of cellular physiology including gene expression. Defects in NPC function are implicated in a number of autoimmune diseases, leukaemias and others cancers. Also, nuclear transport plays a pivotal role in viral infections. However, it has been unclear how the NPC facilitates the selective translocation of macromolecules.
Borrowing a page from modern manufacturing, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have built a microscopic assembly line that mass produces synthetic cell-like compartments.
The University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine scientists are studying the tooth enamel biomineralization process, which could allow them to develop unique nanoscale methods to produce biomaterials.
Researchers are able to achieve extremely high-resolution microscopy through a process known as stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy. This cutting-edge imaging system has pushed the performance of microscopes significantly past the classical limit, enabling them to image features that are even smaller than the wavelength of light used to study them.
Two studies featuring research from Weill Cornell Medical College have uncovered surprising details about the complex process that leads to the flow of neurotransmitters between brain neurons -- a dance of chemical messages so delicate that missteps often lead to neurological dysfunction.
Researchers are introducing new technologies that involve combination of laser and electric fields for manipulating liquids and small particles such as virus, bacteria, and DNA for usage in several industries from food safety to drug production.
The method of controlling the transport of proteins in and out of the nucleus makes the nuclear pore complex (NPC) biologically important. They act like a lock system filtering the active molecules, thereby enabling precise exchange of specific proteins in a highly selective way.
Gold-coated substrates of gallium nitride with specifically formed surface, developed by researchers from the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Institute of High Pressure Physics of the PAS display worldwide unique properties.
According to a study of Virginia Commonwealth University and Virginia Tech, a single substance with dual functionality to induce both a diagnostic as well as a therapeutic agent may be helpful in brain tumors to enhance imaging, diagnosis, and treatment procedure.
Researchers at the Northwestern University have created a unique nanostructure that triggers a series of complex actions to promote the formation of new blood vessels, thereby contributing a therapy for situations that require increased flow of blood to supply the needed oxygen to the tissues.
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) researchers have devised a new method called single-crystal electron diffraction tomography to accurately identify the arrangement of molecules and atoms in materials ranging from pharmaceuticals to cement.
Andrew Turberfield and his research team at the University of Oxford have built a programmable molecular robot, a molecular machine of sub-microscopic dimensions comprising artificial DNA. The genetic material travels amid track locations alienated by a distance of 6nm.
A research team at the University of Illinois has devised a novel imaging technique called spatial light interference microscopy (SLIM) that uses two light beams to quantify cell mass.
Biophysicists at the University of Pennsylvania have helped develop a new technique for studying how proteins respond to physical stress and have applied it to better understand the stability-granting structures in normal and mutated red blood cells.
The University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers have discovered a RNA nano-scaffold that is thermodynamically stable in the body. This discovery further leads to the advancement of therapeutic RNA nanotechnology.
Boston College researchers have discovered two early-stage phases of carbon nanotube growth during plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition, finding a disorderly tangle of tube growth that ultimately yields to orderly rows of the nanoscopic tubes, according to a report in the latest edition of the journal Nanotechnology.
Shermali Gunawerdana, University of Buffalo researcher, discovered that ORMOSIL nanoparticles when injected into the brain of insects, which even after being exposed for a long time, did not affect the flies and cells in any way.
Every cell in the human body contains a complex system to transport essential cargoes such as proteins and membrane vesicles from one point to another. These tiny molecular motor proteins move at high speeds on miniature railways carrying components of the cell to their proper destinations. It is critical that these railways are neither too long nor too short, as that would cause a misdirection of the proteins being transported. But just how cells construct these transport railways to fit precisely inside the confines of individual cells is a complex question.
A study by researchers from the schools of science and medicine at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis examines the effects of carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) on living cells. This work is among the first to study concentrations of these tiny particles that are low enough to mimic the actual exposure of an ordinary individual.
Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a simple, scalable way to align gold nanorods, particles with optical properties that could be used for emerging biomedical imaging technologies.
Findings by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers may suggest new strategies for successful donor adult stem cell transplants in patients with blood cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma.
For the first time, scientists discovered that a specific type of human cell, generated from stem cells and transplanted into spinal cord injured rats, provide tremendous benefit, not only repairing damage to the nervous system but helping the animals regain locomotor function as well.
An international team of researchers has invented new artificial muscles strong enough to rotate objects a thousand times their own weight, but with the same flexibility of an elephant's trunk or octopus limbs.
A radical new way of making structures visible at the nano level has been developed at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU). This new method makes it possible to determine with precision the arrangement of atoms and molecules in a diverse range of materials from cement to pharmaceuticals. The procedure, which is still in its infancy, comes from the field of electron microscopy and can resolve the structure of the tiniest crystals.
Scientists at the National Physical Laboratory have created a functional model of the native extracellular matrix that provides structural support to cells to aid growth and proliferation. The model could lead to advances in regenerative medicine.
Brown University researchers have revealed the mystery behind the interest of cells towards asbestos fibers and similar materials at the nanoscale even though they cannot be completely ingested by the cells.
Scientists at the schools of science and medicine at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) are studying the impact of carbon nanoparticles on living cells.
A team of researchers from the National University of the South in Bahia Blanca, Argentina have analysed the condition required for hydrophobic cavities and similar tunnel structures that is similar to the protein binding sites to remain dry without losing their capability to react.
Using a light-triggered chemical tool, Johns Hopkins scientists report that they have refined a means of moving individual molecules around inside living cells and sending them to exact locations at precise times.
Researchers working at the University of Manchester have found that tiny whiskers of nanoscale sizes extracted from marine life could help develop muscle tissue for humans.
NICNAS, the National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme of the Australian Government regulator of industrial chemicals, commissioned a review and analysis available literature from 2007-2009 on six industrial nanomaterials, chosen as they were considered to already be in, or close to, commercial use in Australia ("Review of 2007-09 literature on toxcological and health-effects relating to six Nanomaterials"; pdf).
Laboratory on a microchip, capable to detect most types of antibodies in patient's blood in a single test would be a revolutionary breakthrough in medical diagnostics. The physicians would gain rapid access to examined patient's personal health records with the data on both past and present diseases, as well as those that will develop only in future.
RUSNANO has announced the acquisition of 41.37 percent of owners' equity in project company SynBio. RUSNANO paid 900 million rubles for the share as part of an earlier signed investment agreement whose participants include the Human Stem Cells Institute, Pharmsynthez, Cryonix, FDS Pharma LLP (United Kingdom), and Pharmsynthez's chairman Dmitry Genkin as a private investor .
RUSNANO has invested $4.5 million dollars in a project to expand production of label-free biodetectors and bionanoslides with their American developer, BiOptix Diagnostics, Inc. Two American venture capital funds, Boulder Ventures, Ltd. and Peierls Foundation, and private investors have invested another $4.5 million in authorized capital of BiOptix. The project, which has a total budget of $19 million, was approved by the Supervisory Council of RUSNANO in December 2010.
RUSNANO is joining a project that will produce cosmetics based on double encapsulation technology. Earlier, the project attracted financing from Russian Venture Company's Seed Investment Fund. The project has a total budget of 65 million rubles. RUSNANO will receive an 18% interest in Nanoderm-Profi, the project company.
Scientists seeking to improve cancer treatments have created a tiny drug transporter that maximizes its ability to silence damaging genes by finding the equivalent of an expressway into a target cell. The transporter, called a nanocarrier, is a lipid-based structure containing a piece of RNA. Lipids are fatty molecules that help maintain the structure of cell membranes.
The use of nanomaterials is constantly increasing in all industrial sectors, in particular in biomedicine with applications in diagnostics and therapeutics. Gold nanoparticles have already several applications in biology and medicine; they are also used in consumer products such as cosmetics.
Scientists at the University of Wisconsin have developed a new electron microscope, which can provide high-resolution three-dimensional images of biological samples. The microscope has the ability to view thick and flash frozen samples. This is a major development from the traditional electron microscopes, which provide two-dimensional images with grey shades.
A microlaser in the size of a pinprick has been developed that can identify and count individual viruses accurately. It can also be used to count the nanoparticles that initiate cloud formation or pollute the air we breathe.
At Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), researchers of the DFG Center for Functional Nanostructures (CFN) succeeded in specifically cultivating cells on three-dimensional structures ("Two-Component Polymer Scaffolds for Controlled Three-Dimensional Cell Culturen"). The fascinating thing is that the cells are offered small "holds" in the micrometer range on the scaffold, to which they can adhere. Adhesion is possible to these holds only, not to the remaining structure. For the first time, cell adhesion and, hence, cell shape are influenced precisely in three dimensions. The team headed by Professor Martin Bastmeyer thus has achieved big progress in the field of biomaterial engineering.
Dr. Andras Nagy's laboratory at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital and Dr. Timo Otonkoski's laboratory at Biomedicum Stem Cell Center (University of Helsinki), as well as collaborators in Europe and Canada have identified genetic abnormalities associated with reprogramming adult cells to induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. The findings give researchers new insights into the reprogramming process, and will help make future applications of stem cell creation and subsequent use safer.
With every bodily movement--from the blink of an eye to running a marathon--nerve cells transmit signals to muscle cells. To do that, nerve cells rely on tiny molecular motors to transport chemical messengers (neurotransmitters) that excite muscles cells into action. It's a complex process, which scientists are still trying to understand. A new study by Syracuse University researchers has uncovered an important piece of the puzzle.
Since the discovery of the microscope, scientists have tried to visualize smaller and smaller structures to provide insights into the inner workings of human cells, bacteria and viruses. Now, researchers at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), part of the National Institutes of Health, have developed a new way to see structures within viruses that were not clearly seen before.
Scientists at the Penn State University (PSU) have discovered an innovative method for in-depth profiling of molecules. Molecular profiling is essential to evaluate the surfaces of ultra-thin materials such as nanoparticles, human tissues and biological cells. This kind of study is vital for applications in drug delivery and treatment of neurological diseases and injury.
Dr Sergey Gordeev, from the Department of Physics, was trying to create a nano-scalpel, a tool which can be used by biologists to look inside cells, when the process went wrong.
The University of Plymouth researchers have for the first time demonstrated the detrimental impact of nanoparticles on an animal's brain and other areas in the central nervous system.
The James Watt Nanofabrication Centre in Glasgow, UK, has added a PlasmaPro® System100 ICP plasma etch system to its existing installed base of Oxford Instruments etch and deposition tools. The PlasmaPro System100 ICP will be used to etch compound semiconductors materials used in applications such as optoelectronics, mm-wave & terahertz, bioengineering, biotechnology, lab-on-a-chip, energy harvesting and photovoltaics.
Monitoring cell functions and cell-to-cell communication has enormous implications for cell biology, regenerative medicine and tracking the fate of transplanted cells in cell therapy. Unfortunately, probing what cells 'see' and how they respond in real time to surrounding signals (i.e. cytokines) has been a major challenge.
Shrink Nanotechnologies, Inc., an innovative high technology company announced that critical intellectual property for Shrink's Cell Align™ cell culturing and tissue engineering material, along with a novel higher performing immunoassay substrate has been filed with the US Patent & Trademark Office.
Using short snippets of RNA to turn off a specific gene in certain immune cells, scientists have shown that they can shut off the inflammation responsible for diseases such as atherosclerosis.
Grenoble-based InfiniScale and CEA-Leti have signed a multi-year joint venture to concentrate on process-variability monitoring in aggressive technologies such as SOI sub-28 nm systems.
Bioengineers at Tufts University School of Engineering have developed a new silk-based microneedle system able to deliver precise amounts of drugs over time and without need for refrigeration. The tiny needles can be fabricated under normal temperature and pressure and from water, so they can be loaded with sensitive biochemical compounds and maintain their activity prior to use.
SiMPore Inc. has been awarded a phase 1 SBIR grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop a microarray cell culture system. SiMPore will examine methods to create micro-patterned walls in order to expand SiMPore's ultrathin membrane offerings from 4-wells, currently available in CytoVu® imaging slides, into a microarray format of 96 or 384 wells. These new microarrays would fill a need for high-throughput or single cell studies.
SiMPore Inc., an early-stage nanotechnology company in Rochester, NY, has received a Phase I SBIR grant from the National Institutes of Health to improve phase contrast transmission electron microscopy (TEM). An electron microscope uses a beam of electrons instead of light to illuminate an object of interest. It allows the object to be observed at one-million-times magnification or greater. In theory, this level of magnification should permit biomedical researchers to see the three-dimensional structure of a virus or similarly sized biological molecule. However, current TEM methods are limited in certain aspects. Phase contrast promises to overcome some of these inherent limitations of TEM imaging of biological structures.
Pulsatile drug delivery devices can provide controlled and long-term release of drugs in the body under the action of an external stimulus, offering the promise of new treatments for chronic diseases that require daily injections or precise doses of toxic medication. In a new development for such biomedical devices, Jin Kon Kim from the Pohang University of Science and Technology in Korea and colleagues have designed a porous membrane that stores and releases drug molecules according to an external electric signal ("Electrically actuatable smart nanoporous membrane for pulsatile drug release").
Lateral organization and diffusion of lipids and membrane proteins are crucial factors of biological reactions on cell membranes such as signal transduction and cell recognition. Various types and sizes of two-dimensional organizations, such as domains, clusters, and microcompartments, with scales from several nanometers to micrometers construct hierarchic structures in cell membranes.
SRU Biosystems, a leader in label-free technology, publically announced today the recipients of its Second Annual Label-free Instrument Research Grant. The Company awarded its newly launched BIND® SCANNER to the laboratory of John Lambris and Daniel Ricklin at the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The award was chosen on scientific merit including the level of innovation and the degree to which label-free biosensors could significantly advance breakthrough research in basic and applied science as well as in drug discovery.
Scientists at Vanderbilt University have developed a potential new technique using electron microscopy to view gold nanoparticle-tagged proteins on the move in undamaged, whole cells.
Macrophages are white blood cells with a wide presence in various organs and tissues, that perform an essential role in keeping organisms healthy by scavenging cellular debris and disease agents. Since macrophages play an indispensable role in most pathological conditions, they represent an ideal target for therapeutic applications.
A new study finds that the general public thinks getting a suntan poses a greater public health risk than nanotechnology or other nanoparticle applications. The study, from North Carolina State University, compared survey respondents' perceived risk of nanoparticles with 23 other public-health risks.
Recent studies conducted at Marshall University have demonstrated that nanoparticles of cerium oxide -- common diesel fuel additives used to increase the fuel efficiency of automobile engines -- can travel from the lungs to the liver and that this process is associated with liver damage.
Mechanism of action of drugs in body cells becomes transparent -- the LIMON 3D microscopy (LIght MicroscOpical Nanosizing) of Prof. Dr. Dr. Christoph Cremer opens new possibilities for pharmaceutical research. 3D molecular complexes so-called biomolecular machines, targets of drugs can thus be studied in vivo.
The "Swedish-Italian Workshop on Nanoscience and Medical Technology" was held in Stockholm on 29 and 30 September at YKI, Institute for Surface Chemistry. The event was organized by the Scientific Office of the Embassy of Italy in Sweden in collaboration with Institute for Surface Chemistry (YKI, Ytkemiska Institutet). The Italian company Bracco Imaging, European leader in contrast media for medical imaging, also provided financial support
A new chemical bonding process can add new functions to stainless steel and make it a more useful material for implanted biomedical devices. Developed by an interdisciplinary team at the University of Alberta and Canada's National Institute for Nanotechnology, this new process was developed to address some of the problems associated with the introduction of stainless steel into the human body.
Since the middle of the 1990s a bright green fluorescent protein has been used in research laboratories worldwide. Protein designers at Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) in Weihenstephan have now taken the existing fluorescent protein a step further: They have managed to incorporate a synthetic amino acid into the natural protein and thus to create a new kind of chimeric fluorescent bio-molecule by means of synthetic biology. By exploiting a special physical effect, the fluorescent protein glows in turquoise when excited with ultraviolet light and displays up to now unmatched properties.
Scientists at The University of Nottingham are leading an ambitious research project to develop an in vivo biological cell-equivalent of a computer operating system.
Our body consists of individual organs that are made of cells, which in turn contain a number of separate organelles. Biological function cannot be maintained if there are no separate compartments, and compartments are also of use in chemistry.
The life science company Cellendes in Germany has developed synthetic hydrogels that make it possible to culture cells in three-dimensional environments. Their invention has fundamental advantages over other hydrogels for three-dimensional cultivation, also on the market.
Techulon, which specialises in the delivery of low-toxic genes has announced that it plans to expand its reach to the Northern Virginia/Maryland corridor by providing customer access and support to its Glycofect transfection reagent.
Conventional rules of survival tend to favor the strongest, but University of Pittsburgh-based researchers recently found that in the emerging world of self-healing materials, it is the somewhat frail that survive.
Tekmira Pharmaceuticals has inked an exclusive, global license and partnership deal with Halo-Bio RNAi Therapeutics for its innovative and proprietary RNAi technology known as multivalent RNA (MV-RNA) to develop MV-RNA molecules and therapeutic products by coupling Tekmira's lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology and MV-RNA molecules.
The National Nanotechnology Center (NANOTEC) and Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO) signed a strategic research collaboration agreement to focus on drug discovery using nanotechnology.
The National Nanotechnology Center (NANOTEC) today announced it has entered into an Affiliation Agreement with the School of Pharmacy at West Virginia University, USA to explore collaborative research opportunities in areas related to pharmaceutical and health-related research initiatives.
Many cell types in higher organisms are capable of implementing directed motion in response to the presence of certain chemical attractants in their vicinity. A team led by Dr. Doris Heinrich of the Faculty of Physics and the Center for NanoScience (CeNS) at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) München has developed a novel technique to expose an ensemble of living cells to rapidly varying concentrations of chemoattractants.
Biomarkers are of increasing importance in modern medicine for the purpose of early detection and diagnosis of a disease, for instance cancer. Biomarkers are mostly protein molecules that can be measured in blood, other body fluids, and tissues to assess the presence or state of a disease. To analyze the presence and level of certain biomarkers in body fluids, miniaturized immunoassays that make use of microfluidics have become an important analysis technique.
Xiaohui "Frank" Zhang is integrating physics, immunology and biology to develop a "nanodevice" that could provide a new treatment for stroke, thrombosis and atherosclerosis.
The Nanodermatology Society (NDS), a physician-led organization dedicated to the scientific and medical aspects of nanotechnology and dermatology, released its first position statement on the safety of nanotechnology in sunscreens.
Researchers at Carlos III University in Madrid (UC3M), at the Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (Institute for Health Research) of Gregorio Marańón Hospital and the Instituto de Cerámica y Vidrio (Ceramics and Glass Institute) of the CSIC (Spanish Council for Scientific Research) are working on a project that analyzes the use of new reinforced hydroxyapatite compounds as replacements for bones.
JPK Instruments, a world-leading manufacturer of nanoanalytic instrumentation for research in life sciences and soft matter, reports that the University of Leipzig has chosen the CellHesion® 200 system for their Institute of Experimental Physics I.
NanoSight, world-leading manufacturers of unique nanoparticle characterization technology reports that the School of Medicine at the University of St Andrews is using nanoparticle tracking analysis, NTA, to characterize exosome behaviour.
Breath analysis has been recognized as an increasingly accurate diagnostic method to link specific gaseous components in human breath to medical conditions and exposure to chemical compounds. Sampling breath is also much less invasive than testing blood, can be done very quickly, and creates as good as no biohazard waste. We have written about emerging nanotechnology applications in breath analysis in previous Nanowerk Spotlights.
Living cells are virtuosos of chemistry. At any one time, countless chemical reactions are taking place within each cell. For researchers trying to understand how cells function, unraveling this complex chemistry is an ongoing challenge. The process, however, could soon become a little more straightforward. Mikiko Sodeoka and colleagues at the RIKEN Advanced Science Institute at Wako, in collaboration with a team led by Katsumasa Fujita and Satoshi Kawata at Osaka University, have demonstrated how to tag molecules in a way that promises to be much more versatile than current methods ("Imaging of EdU, an Alkyne-Tagged Cell Proliferation Probe, by Raman Microscopy").
Advances in microchip technology may someday enable clinicians to perform tests for hundreds of diseases -- sifting out specific molecules, such as early stage cancer cells -- from just one drop of blood. But fabricating such "lab-on-a-chip" designs -- tiny, integrated diagonistic sensor arrays on surfaces as small as a square centimeter -- is a technically challenging, time-consuming and expensive feat.
POZEN Inc., a pharmaceutical company committed to transforming medicine that transforms lives, announced today top-line results from study 303, a Phase 3 trial designed to track the long-term safety of PA32540 in patients who are at risk for developing aspirin-associated gastric ulcers. In this open label study, adverse events were consistent with what would be expected in this population of patients requiring cardio-aspirin therapy and with the known safety profile of the PA components. The rate of discontinuation due to adverse events was low, and few patients developed major cardiovascular adverse events.
A joint cooperation between three research groups at nanoGUNE (Donostia -- San Sebastian, Spain) reports an innovative method to focus infrared light with tapered transmission lines to nanometer-size dimensions. This device could trigger the development of novel chemical and biological sensing tools, including ultra-small infrared spectrometers and lab-on-a-chip integrated biosensors.
A supplier of laboratory instrumentation for pharmaceutical, biotech, and healthcare sector, TTP LabTech has demonstrated the purpose of Acumen eX3, a laser scanning imaging cytometer, to illuminate cellular pathways that are involved in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) shedding.
At the Society for Biomolecular Screening (SBS) conference 2011, TTP LabTech has announced an exciting collaboration with a world leader in membrane protein crystallography. Here, Professor Martin Caffrey, Trinity College, Dublin, renowned for automating and miniaturizing the in meso method, has highlighted a number of attractive features of the new mosquito® LCP instrument.
An alliance of top researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, has formed the UC Berkeley Synthetic Biology Institute (SBI), advancing efforts to engineer cells and biological systems in ways that promise to transform technology in health and medicine, energy, the environment, new materials, and a host of other critical arenas.
A new center at UC Santa Barbara has the development of an artificial pancreas in its sights, as well as new biomaterials, new tools for the detection and diagnosis of disease, and new mechanisms for drug delivery -- among other cutting-edge scientific developments.
The Technology Strategy Board in partnership with the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is to invest up to £9m in grant funding to support highly innovative, business led collaborative research projects focussed on nanoscale technology-enabled solutions for the healthcare sector.
Johns Hopkins researchers have used a chemical tool triggered by light to transport single molecules inside living organisms. The organisms can also be directed to specific spots at pre-fixed times.
New ultrasmall peptides that can be used as building blocks for a wide range of regenerative applications such as spinal disc replacement and cartilage repair have been developed by scientists at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN), the world's first bioengineering and nanotechnology research institute. These peptides spontaneously assemble in water to form hydrogels, which resemble collagen, a major component of connective tissues found in cartilage, ligaments, tendons, bone and skin.
A technique that lets researchers monitor single cancer cells in real time as they float in liquid could help doctors study the breakaway tumor cells that cause metastasis. Metastasis is the process of the disease spreading through the body.
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have designed a multiple-compartment gel capsule that could be used to simultaneously deliver drugs of different types. The researchers used a simple "one-pot" method to prepare the hydrogel capsules, which measure less than one micron.
A $250,000 contribution today by AT&T Arkansas in honor of outgoing board member Patti Upton gave a significant boost to the nanomedicine research program in the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).
A new nanomedicine and nanotechnology laboratory has been opened on the third floor of the Centennial Engineering Center of the University of New Mexico.
Research results on nanoparticle applications and their toxicity depend on how well scientists are able to quantify the communication between the nanoparticles and cells, particularly the number of nanoparticles a cell can absorb. In clinical trials, cells are kept on the bottom of a dish, and a culture with nanoparticles is poured over them.
Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Weill Cornell Medical College have designed artificial "protocells" that can lure, entrap and inactivate a class of deadly human viruses--think decoys with teeth. The technique offers a new research tool that can be used to study in detail the mechanism by which viruses attack cells, and might even become the basis for a new class of antiviral drugs.
Researchers at National Nanotechnology Center, NANOTEC in Thailand, are doing research on the effects of the degree of quaternization, molecular weight and ratio of N-methylpyridinium and N,N,N-trimethyl ammonium moieties on bactericidal activity by introducing quaternization of N-(3-pyridylmethyl) chitosan derivatives.
The quest for better ways of encapsulating medicine so that it can reach diseased parts of the body has led scientists to harness -- for the first time -- living human cells to produce natural capsules with channels for releasing drugs and diagnostic agents. The report appears in ACS' journal Nano Letters ("Cells as Factories for Humanized Encapsulation").
For some time now nanocellulose has been at the focus of a good deal of industrial and scientific interest as a novel biomaterial. Potential applications range from the creation of new kinds of commercially useful materials and uses in medical technology all the way to the food and pharmaceutical industries. Empa researchers have now developed a manufacturing process for nanocellulose powder, the raw material for creating polymer composites which can be used, for example, in lightweight structures for the car industry or as membrane and filter material for biomedicinal applications.
Researchers at National Nanotechnology Center (NANOTEC) in Bangkok have studied the application of niosomes for encapsulation of nisin and EDTA. Nisin (Food Additive, E234) are used as antimicrobial substance in food and pharmaceutical applications.
Carnegie Mellon University's Roberto R. Gil and Rongchao Jin have successfully used NMR to analyze the structure of infinitesimal gold nanoparticles, which could advance the development and use of the tiny particles in drug development.
From detecting pathogens in blood samples to the study of protein synthesis, Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) sensors have many uses in modern biology. In this technique, antibodies anchored to gold electrodes on a piece of quartz crystal act like the "hooks" on the sticky side of a Velcro strap, grabbing molecules of interest as they pass by. The more molecule-sensing antibodies on the surface of the sensor, the more sensitive the QCM device's detection capabilities.
It's a bit of a challenge. But, imagine a microscopic jet vacuum cleaner, the size of a pen nib that hovers over cell surfaces without ever touching them. Then imagine that the soap in the cleaning solution is replaced with various molecules that can be selectively delivered to the cells. This gives you a sense of a new device that researchers believe will serve as a powerful tool to study the behaviour of living cells and a range of crucial cellular processes, from cancer cell formation to how neurons align themselves in the developing brain.
A UCLA research team has discovered a method to deliver target drugs using nanotechnology. The team was led by Leonard H. Rome and included Daniel C. Buehler and Valerie Kickhoefer from the UCLA Department of Biological Chemistry, Daniel B. Toso and Z. Hong Zhou from the UCLA Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, and the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) at UCLA.
Viruses that attack plants, insects, mammals and bacteria are proving effective platforms for delivering medicines and imaging chemicals to specific cells in the body, as building blocks for tiny battery electrodes and computer data storage devices, and other nanotechnologies.
Biomedical engineer Marissa Nichole Rylander, associate professor jointly appointed in the mechanical engineering department and Virginia Tech -- Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences.
Bacteria and viruses, which were affecting insects, plants and mammals, are turning to be beneficial in drug-delivery and chemical imaging of body cells, key agent in the manufacture of small battery electrodes, system storage devices, and in several nanotechnologies.
The ability to obtain an accurate three-dimensional image of an intact cell is critical for unraveling the mysteries of cellular structure and function. However, for many years, tiny structures buried deep inside cells have been practically invisible to scientists due to a lack of microscopic techniques that achieve adequate resolution at the cell surface and through the entire depth of the cell.
XEI Scientific Inc, maker of the popular EVACTRON® De-Contaminator Plasma Cleaning System for electron microscopes and other vacuum chambers, announces their new SoftClean™ specimen cleaning chamber to be used with the Evactron De-Contaminator for electron microscopy.
While viruses are so often seen as the enemy, modern scientific techniques may soon be able to harness the strengths of a virus for drug delivery systems that are designed to treat diseases, rather than cause them. Using a Zetasizer Nano particle characterization system from Malvern Instruments, researchers at Indiana University's (IU) Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Department have been studying self-assembled virus-based drug delivery systems that can be tuned to a particular size enabling the uptake of specific functional cargo.
Some of the most dreaded diseases in the world such as plague, typhoid and cholera are caused by bacteria that have one thing in common: they possess an infection apparatus which is a nearly unbeatable weapon. When attacking a cell of the body, they develop numerous hollow-needle-shaped structures that project from the bacterial surface. Through these needles, the bacteria inject signal substances into the host cells, which re-program the latter and thereby overcome their defense. From this time on it's easy game for the pathogens; they can invade the cells unimpeded and in large numbers.