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Synthetic nanoparticle can light up and treat atherosclerotic plaques

Atherosclerosis, a disease in which plaque builds up inside arteries, is a prolific and invisible killer, but it may soon lose its ability to hide in the body and wreak havoc. Scientists have now developed a nanoparticle that functionally mimics nature's own high-density lipoprotein (HDL). The nanoparticle can simultaneously light up and treat atherosclerotic plaques that clog arteries. Therapy with this approach could someday help prevent deadly heart attacks and strokes.

14 Mar 2016

Delivering microRNAs in cancer treatment: an interview with Dr Conde and Prof Artzi

microRNAs (miRs) are small endogenous noncoding RNA molecules (20–23 nucleotides) derived from imperfectly paired hairpin RNA structures naturally encoded in the genome that act specifically as triggering molecules to control translational repression or mRNA degradation.

11 Mar 2016

Novel nanoparticle technology can decipher protein structures and help access drug targets

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, have developed a nanoparticle technology that can be used to stabilise membrane proteins so that their structure can be studied in a lipid environment. The method, described in Nature Methods, makes it possible to access drug targets that previously could not be investigated and therefore potentially allows for the development of novel drugs, therapeutic antibodies and vaccines.

9 Mar 2016

Drug-incorporated nanoparticle platforms allow for selective targeting of cancer cells

Cancer is a group of diseases characterized by the uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells. It is a leading cause of death and the burden is expected to grow worldwide due to the growth and aging of the population, mainly in less developed countries, in which about 82% of the world's population resides. By 2030, the global burden is expected to grow to 21.7 million new cancer cases and 13 million cancer deaths simply due to the growth and aging of the population. Current cancer therapy approaches are based in surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, being the chemotherapy the one that shows the greater efficiency for cancer treatment, mainly in more advanced stages. A major problem with this conventional chemotherapy is its toxicity and it also destroys healthy tissues resulting in systemic toxicity besides beneficial characteristics of killing cancer cells. Anticancer drugs also destroy healthy tissues resulting in systemic toxicity.

8 Mar 2016

Johns Hopkins Greenberg Bladder Cancer Institute awards grants for 10 bladder cancer research projects

A study of obesity and related metabolic changes on bladder cancer incidence and deaths, and a plan to use stem cells to grow novel urinary tubes are among 10 research projects awarded funding by the Johns Hopkins Greenberg Bladder Cancer Institute.

7 Mar 2016

Renishaw inVia to support development of nanomolecular probes in Kircher Laboratory at Memorial Sloan Kettering

The Kircher laboratory at Memorial Sloan Kettering is developing novel nanoprobes for molecular imaging, image-guided therapy and theranostics.

4 Mar 2016

Researchers aim to develop gentler treatment that 'tricks' cancer cells

The most common treatments for cancer are radiation and chemotherapy. However they have side effects and also damage healthy tissues. Moreover, their effectiveness is limited when the cancer has spread through out the body. Researchers at the Niels Bohr Institute are therefore working to develop a gentler treatment that 'tricks' the cancer cells, which would absorb a cytotoxin and therefore be destroyed, while healthy cells would remain unaffected. The results are published in the scientific journal, Scientific Reports.

2 Mar 2016

Blueberry Therapeutics set to create safe, effective nanomedicines to tackle unmet healthcare needs

Blueberry Therapeutics Ltd, a leading pharmaceutical company focused on the major medical problems of inflammation and infection, are exploring the anti-microbial agenda through the development of new anti-fungal drugs and treatments to tackle this important unmet healthcare need.

2 Mar 2016

Advances in the field of MPI: an interview with Professor Kannan Krishnan

In around 2004, there was a Phillips paper that discussed a new imaging technique called MPI. At that time, I had an eager, promising graduate student named Matt Ferguson who wanted a project, so I asked him to take a look.

From Bruker BioSpin - NMR, EPR and Imaging 1 Mar 2016

Novel mitochondria-specific ceria nanoparticles can effectively suppress neuronal cell death

The brain is an enormous network of communication, containing over 100 billion nerve cells, or neurons, with branches that connect at more than 100 trillion points. They are constantly sending signals through a vast neuron forest that forms memories, thoughts and feelings; these patterns of activity form the essence of each person.

27 Feb 2016

Two Johns Hopkins scientists named among 105 winners of Presidential Early Career Awards

Namandje Bumpus, Ph.D., and Jordan Green, Ph.D., of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine are among 105 winners of Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, which were announced by the White House on Feb. 18.

23 Feb 2016

Calgary researchers develop new class of nanomedicines to treat autoimmune diseases

A new study from the University of Calgary could change the way researchers understand and treat autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.

22 Feb 2016

New molecular delivery system could help ensure delivery of chemotherapy drugs into tumours

Chemotherapy isn't supposed to make your hair fall out -- it's supposed to kill cancer cells. A new molecular delivery system created at U of T Engineering could help ensure that chemotherapy drugs get to their target while minimizing collateral damage.

22 Feb 2016

Kellogg investigators develop new nanotechnology that has potential to kill tumor cells in the eye

Researchers at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center have developed a new nanoparticle that uses a tumor cell's protective mechanism against itself -- short-circuiting tumor cell metabolism and killing tumor cells.

19 Feb 2016

Parvus' novel therapeutic approach employing nanomedicines published in Nature

Parvus Therapeutics today announced the publication in Nature of a seminal paper describing the discovery and applications of a novel therapeutic approach employing nanomedicines, referred to as "Navacims"TM, to reprogram white blood cells to become regulatory cells capable of blunting autoimmune responses and restoring the equilibrium of the immune system.

19 Feb 2016

New optogenetic technology could turn on immune cells to attack melanoma tumors

A new optogenetic technology developed at UMass Medical School, called optogenetic immunomodulation, is capable of turning on immune cells to attack melanoma tumors in mice. Using near-infrared light, UMMS researchers have shown they can selectively activate an immune response by controlling the flow of calcium ions into the cell. This breakthrough could lead to less invasive, and more controlled and selective, immunotherapies for cancer treatment.

17 Feb 2016

Experimental nanoparticle therapy shows promise for fighting primary liver cancer

An experimental nanoparticle therapy that combines low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and fish oil preferentially kills primary liver cancer cells without harming healthy cells, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers report.

9 Feb 2016

UTHealth researchers demonstrate new way to reduce preterm birth

Using nanoparticles to engineer a special drug, a team of researchers from McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston has demonstrated in pre-clinical trials a new way to both reduce preterm birth and avoid the risks of medication in pregnancy to unborn babies.

5 Feb 2016

Molecular imaging and radiochemistry: the importance of instrumentation. An interview with Professor Björn Wängler

Interview conducted with Professor Björn Wängler, Professor for Molecular Imaging and Radiochemistry from Heidelberg University.

From Bruker BioSpin - NMR, EPR and Imaging 4 Feb 2016

New biosensor test system developed for accurate measurements of protein molecule concentration in blood

Researchers from the General Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology have developed a new biosensor test system based on magnetic nanoparticles.

4 Feb 2016