Nanotechnology News and Research

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Natural gum improves gold nanoparticles for cancer imaging

Gold nanoparticles have shown significant promise as agents to detect and treat cancer, but researchers have had difficulty creating gold nanoparticles that have suitable pharmacological properties for use in humans.

12 Feb 2007

DNA-encoded antibody libraries

During the past several years, breakthroughs in genomic and proteomic technologies have enabled researchers to more clearly identify the biochemical networks that malfunction when a healthy cell becomes malignant.

12 Feb 2007

Changes in breast cancer management

Aggressive research currently underway brings hope of dramatic advances in breast cancer management, according to a new review.

12 Feb 2007

Natural molecules to create pseudo-cell factories

Carnegie Mellon University's Philip LeDuc predicts the use of artificially created cells could be a potential new therapeutic approach for treating diseases in an ever-changing world.

7 Feb 2007

Self-assembling nanostructures of DNA

Wouldn't it be great if we could get computer chips to grow on trees? Or at least use the specific bonds of DNA molecules to get nanostructures to grow themselves right in the test tube?

5 Feb 2007

Nano-microscopy reveals collective transport of gold atoms in real-time

Researchers at Delft University of Technology used a High Resolution Electron Microscope to observe in real-time the collective transportation of gold atoms in a thin layer.

5 Feb 2007

Rapid transport of large polymeric nanoparticles in fresh undiluted human mucus

The layers of mucus that protect sensitive tissue throughout the body have an undesirable side effect: they can also keep helpful medications away.

5 Feb 2007

New type of nanoparticle created by spray pyrolysis

Researchers at the University of California, Davis, have created a new type of nanoparticle that could be used in tests for medical diagnostics, environmental pollution, and contamination of food products.

5 Feb 2007

Heat and pH-sensitive nanoparticles target tumors

Using a novel polymer that becomes unstable under the pH conditions inside tumor cells, investigators at Singapore's Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology have developed a core-shell nanoparticle targeted to deliver drugs to tumors.

5 Feb 2007

Bright quantum dots help basic cancer biology studies

Though there is little doubt that nanoscale devices are going to play a critical role in improving cancer detection and treatment over the next five to ten years, nanoparticles are already having a major impact on the way that cancer biologists study the processes that go awry within malignant and metastatic cells.

5 Feb 2007

Effects of nanotechnology on health and environment

University of Florida engineering student Maria Palazuelos is working on nanotechnology, but she's not seeking a better sunscreen, tougher golf club or other product - the focus of many engineers in the field.

30 Jan 2007

New type of buckyball

Scientists at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine have developed a new type of buckyball nanoparticle that acts as a passkey, allowing peptide-based drugs to enter cancer cells.

29 Jan 2007

Nanocarrier stimuli-activated gene delivery

One approach to developing tumor-specific drug delivery agents is to create nanomaterials that release a therapeutic payload only after reaching their intended target.

29 Jan 2007

Second-generation dendrimer disintegrates upon command

Dendrimers, highly branched, spherical polymers, have demonstrated their utility as drug and imaging agent delivery vehicles for use in detecting and treating cancer, with several dendrimer-based agents nearing human clinical trials.

29 Jan 2007

Design of gold nanoparticles for magnetic resonance imaging

Molecular complexes containing the element gadolinium are proven agents for increasing the diagnostic utility of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), but their use in detecting small tumors is limited by the relatively weak signal these agents produce.

29 Jan 2007

Polymer nanoparticles for immunotherapy from encapsulated tumor-associated antigens and whole tumor cells

Using a biodegradable nanoparticle as a means of delivering tumor cell debris and proteins to the immune system, investigators at Yale University have developed a promising new method for creating therapeutic anticancer vaccines.

29 Jan 2007

Nano Chemical Systems files patent for breakthrough new material

Nano Chemical Systems announced today that it has filed a US Patent application on a breakthrough new material that exhibits light (luminescent) in the absence of heat.

23 Jan 2007

Ultrasensitive optical sensor detects viruses fast

Scientists of the Biophysical Engineering Group of the University of Twente in The Netherlands have developed an ultrasensitive sensor that can be used in a handheld device to, within minutes, detect various viruses and measure their concentration.

22 Jan 2007

Nanoscale "egg" to deliver platinum to tumor cells

Researchers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology have developed a nanoscale "egg" that could safely deliver platinum, a known anticancer agent, to tumor cells.

22 Jan 2007

Nanoparticles from crab shells show promise for drug delivery

Nanoparticles made of chitosan, a naturally occuring polymer isolated from crab and shrimp shells, have shown promise as carriers of anticancer drugs, antitumor genes, and other novel therapeutic agents.

22 Jan 2007