Polymers News and Research

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New way to pack enzymes discovered

Dutch researcher Saskia Lindhoud has discovered a new way to package enzymes by causing charged polymers to form a 'ball of hair' around these. Her approach significantly increases the utility of the enzymes. For example, healthy enzymes with a foul taste can be packaged in such a way that they are released in the stomach without being tasted.

23 Oct 2009

Bionate II PCU launched by DSM Biomedical

DSM PTG, part of DSM Biomedical, a global leader in biomedical materials science, today announced the availability of Bionate® II PCU, a versatile medical polymer with built-in surface technology designed for chronic implants.

21 Oct 2009

U.S. Pharmacopeial fellowships awarded to 6 students

New research focused on the quality of key medicines and their use as well as increasingly popular botanicals is being sponsored by the U.S. Pharmacopeial (USP) Convention under its 2009� Fellowship Program.

21 Oct 2009

Controlled formation of patchy particles may serve as drug-delivery vehicles to combat disease

Physicists, chemists and engineers at the University of Pennsylvania have demonstrated a novel method for the controlled formation of patchy particles, using charged, self-assembling molecules that may one day serve as drug-delivery vehicles to combat disease and perhaps be used in small batteries that store and release charge.

21 Oct 2009

Raydiance makes major breakthrough by manufacturing bioabsorbable vascular stent materials

Raydiance Corporation, developer of the world’s first commercial-grade ultrafast laser, announced today that it has made a major breakthrough in manufacturing a wide variety of bio-absorbable materials with precise, micron-resolution feature sizes and with no heat affected zones (HAZ).

21 Oct 2009

New 3D scaffolding technology may help grow skin and blood vessels in labs

Scientists are developing new scaffolding technology which could be used to grow tissues such as skin, nerves and cartilage using 3D spaghetti-like structures. Their research is highlighted in the latest issue of Business, the quarterly highlights magazine of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

19 Oct 2009

NIH awards grant to conduct genetic drug research on cancer and heart disease

A Virginia Tech chemist has been awarded a $2.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct research that will aid in the development of new heart disease and cancer medicines that have fewer side effects.

15 Oct 2009

Global Bioenergies discovers synthetic metabolic pathway for producing isobutene

Global Bioenergies, located on the Genopole campus close to Paris, has today announced the proof-of-concept of a synthetic metabolic pathway for producing isobutene, a key building block that can be converted into transportation fuels, polymers and various commodity chemicals.

14 Oct 2009

Scientists develop new molecule that can deliver genetic-based drugs into cells

Theresa M. Reineke, associate professor of chemistry in the College of Science, and colleagues in her lab at Virginia Tech and at the University of Cincinnati have developed a new molecule that can travel into cells, deliver genetic cargo, and packs a beacon so scientists can follow its movements in living systems.

7 Oct 2009

BioTuesday Publishing's news blog to focus on Canadian healthcare sector

BioTuesday Publishing Corporation, a division of Kilmer Lucas Inc., announced today its launch of an independent business and investing news blog, BioTuesday.ca, that will focus on exciting companies and technologies in the Canadian healthcare sector.

7 Oct 2009

Researchers engineer antidotes for blood-thinner aptamers

Imagine a surgical patient on a blood-thinning drug who starts bleeding more than expected, and an antidote that works immediately - because the blood thinner and antidote were designed to work together. Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have engineered a way to do this for an entire, versatile class of drugs called aptamers and published their findings in Nature Medicine.

4 Oct 2009

PolyMedix receives patent protection for computational methods in the design of amphiphilic polymers

PolyMedix, Inc., an emerging biotechnology company developing new therapeutic drug products to treat infectious diseases and acute cardiovascular disorders based on biomimetics, has received patent protection for certain exclusively licensed intellectual property by the issuance to the University of Pennsylvania of U.S. patent number 7,590,517, “Methods, Systems, and Computer Program Products for Computational Design of Amphiphilic Polymers.”

28 Sep 2009

An overview on nanoparticles

At SINTEF scientist both exploit the benefits of the nanotechnology and try to discover how tiny particles could behave hazardous in nature.

28 Sep 2009

Clinical study results of Novolimus and Myolimum eluting coronary stent systems released

Elixir Medical Corporation, a developer of products that combine state-of-the-art medical devices with advanced pharmaceuticals, announced today positive results from three multicenter first-in-man studies of Novolimus and Myolimus eluting coronary stent systems with durable and bioabsorbable polymers. Findings were presented at the 21st Annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT 2009) scientific symposium.

24 Sep 2009

Magnetic nanoworms and nanocrystals deliver siRNA to tumors

Small pieces of nucleic acid known as short interfering RNAs, or siRNAs, can turn off the production of specific proteins, a property that makes them one of the more promising new classes of anticancer drugs in development. Indeed, at least two siRNA-based anticancer therapies, both delivered to tumors in nanoparticles, have begun human clinical trials.

23 Sep 2009

Medtronic to showcase cardiovascular product portfolio at TCT 2009

Expecting new data on drug-eluting stents and transcatheter heart valves to feature prominently at Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) 2009 next week in San Francisco, Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), today announced plans to showcase its innovative cardiovascular product portfolio, technology pipeline and clinical research at the world’s premier annual meeting for interventional cardiologists.

19 Sep 2009

DSM Biomedical develops cross-linkable UHMWPE platform

DSM Biomedical, a global leader in biomedical materials science, today announced a major step forward in the development of a new polyethylene polymer platform intended to improve the mechanical properties and long-term stability of hip and knee implants.

16 Sep 2009

New hydrogel mats extends anti-infection protection

Treatment of hospital-related infections in the U.S. costs up to $11 billion a year and about half of those infections are related to medical devices implanted in patients. Until now, efforts to control drug-resistant biofilms on such devices have been largely unsuccessful.

15 Sep 2009

Triple-layer, millimetre-thick bedsheets specifically for maternity wards

Astrid Skreosen has worked for many years as an auxiliary nurse in the maternity ward in Skien Hospital. She became fed up with the little mats which were supposed to lie under women who were giving birth, and were intended to soak up waste products and fluids.

14 Sep 2009

Scientists use advanced technology to find about composite structure of skin

Leeds scientists are using the most sophisticated techniques to tackle a question almost as old as mankind itself - what makes skin feel good, and why?

8 Sep 2009