Polymers News and Research

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Zacharon, Pfizer enter research collaboration to develop drugs for orphan diseases

Zacharon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the company has entered into a strategic research collaboration with Pfizer Inc. to develop drugs for orphan diseases, including lysosomal storage disorders. The potential value of the collaboration to Zacharon is approximately USD $210 million. The collaboration includes the potential development of compounds that may be discovered using Zacharon's innovative platform for developing small molecule drugs targeting specific carbohydrate polymers or glycans.

7 Apr 2011

New ‘nanotech’ weapon against drug-resistant superbugs

Scientists at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) and IBM Research – Almaden have developed the first biodegradable polymer nanoparticles to combat drug-resistant superbugs, such as Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). These nanoparticles can selectively kill the bacteria without destroying healthy red blood cells, and being biodegradable, have great potential to treat infectious diseases in the body. This was reported today in the leading scientific journal, Nature Chemistry [(2011) DOI: 10.1038/nchem.1012].

3 Apr 2011

Accelrys announces Modeling and Simulation Suite for optimizing R&D value chain

Accelrys, Inc., a leading scientific enterprise R&D software and services company, today announced the Accelrys Modeling and Simulation Suite, a pillar of the new Accelrys Enterprise R&D Architecture.

30 Mar 2011

Ohio engineers invent new fluorescent nano-particle to tag molecules in biomedical tests

Engineers at Ohio State University have invented a new kind of nano-particle that shines in different colors to tag molecules in biomedical tests.

29 Mar 2011

BioCer to showcase plant-based hemostasis and coated hernia repair technologies to China.

BioCer Entwicklungs GmbH, a Bayreuth, Germany based medical device manufacturer, has announced their attendance at the China Medical Equipment Fair (CMEF) Shenzhen, China 15th-19th April 2011. HaemoCer™ an Absorbable Polysaccharide Hemostat (APH) and Ti0²Mesh™ Hernia repair system will be on exhibit at the BioCer booth.

24 Mar 2011

Contrast agent for tumor diagnostics

X-rays are not the only way: visible and especially infrared light can also be used to image human tissue. The effectiveness of optical imaging processes can be significantly improved with suitable dyes used as contrast agents. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, a team led by Wenbin Lin at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill, USA) has now introduced a novel contrast agent that marks tumor cells in vitro. The dye is a phosphorescent ruthenium complex incorporated into nanoparticles of a metal–organic coordination polymer, which allows an extraordinarily high level of dye loading.

23 Mar 2011

Scientists discover enzyme family that plays a crucial role in regulating cell motility

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered that members of an enzyme family found in humans and throughout the plant and animal kingdoms play a crucial role in regulating cell motility. Their findings suggest an entirely new strategy for treating conditions ranging from diabetic ulcers to metastatic cancer.

19 Mar 2011

NovaSterilis awarded NIH funding for supercritical CO2 sterilization of advanced biomaterials and absorbable sutures

NovaSterilis today received a $100,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for developing a supercritical CO2 process to sterilize absorbable sutures and advanced biomaterials. The grant funds a collaboration with Chih-Chang Chu Ph.D, a pioneer in absorbable polymer development at Cornell University.

18 Mar 2011

Liquid polymer research could represent next breakthrough in stem cell therapy

At present, cartilage implants created using stem cells can only be constructed as a solid shape, acting as an interim measure before the almost inevitable need for total joint replacement.

18 Mar 2011

New research may shed light on possible treatments for prion diseases

New research by Chongsuk Ryou, researcher at the UK Sanders-Brown Center on Aging and professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics in the UK College of Medicine, may shed light on possible treatments for prion diseases.

15 Mar 2011

New Sanitized MedX 200s active ingredient series to reduce risk of HAI

The new Sanitized MedX 200s active ingredient series, which has been used with success in the plastics of medical equipment, makes a contribution to reducing the risk of Healthcare-Associated Infections, HAI.

3 Mar 2011

Quebec researchers use Malvern’s new high temperature chromatography system in novel work

Researchers working at NanoQAM, the nanotechnology research centre of the University of Quebec (Montreal, Canada), are successfully innovating novel polymer coatings on the basis of data measured using a Viscotek high temperature gel permeation chromatography (HT-GPC) system from Malvern Panalytical.

From Malvern Panalytical 1 Mar 2011

Harvard Medical School selects Agilent's NMR spectrometer for biomolecular research applications

Agilent Technologies Inc. today announced that Harvard Medical School has selected Agilent's 700-MHz Ultra-High Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectrometer for biomolecular research applications.

25 Feb 2011

Micell initiates enrollment in DESSOLVE II MiStent Drug-Eluting Coronary Stent System trial

Micell Technologies,™ Inc. today announced it has enrolled the first patient in the DESSOLVE II (DES with Sirolimus and a bioabsorbable pOLymer for the treatment of patients with de noVo lEsions in the native coronary arteries) clinical trial. Stefan Verheye, M.D., Ph.D. at Middelheim Hospital, Antwerp, Belgium enrolled the first patient in the study. This clinical investigation is being conducted to support CE Mark approval of the company's MiStent™ Drug-Eluting Coronary Stent System (MiStent DES).

18 Feb 2011

Scientists improve methods for flavanol antioxidant determination in cocoa, chocolate

Two scientific publications report on improved methods for determining the amounts of flavanol antioxidants in cocoa and chocolate. The research, sponsored by The Hershey Center for Health and Nutrition, was a collaboration between scientists at The Hershey Company and other scientific laboratories.

15 Feb 2011

NIST team demonstrates a method for controlling different-sized nanoparticle production

The same properties that make engineered nanoparticles attractive for numerous applications-small as a virus, biologically and environmentally stabile, and water-soluble-also cause concern about their long-term impacts on environmental health and safety.

3 Feb 2011

Detergent manufacturers in search for phosphate-free formulas

Phosphate-free automatic dishwashing detergents - introduced to combat the phosphate-fed algae blooms that foul the nation's lakes and rivers - may be making the fish happy. But they're putting a frown on the faces of some consumers who say the new products leave dishes dirty. That's the topic of the cover story in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), ACS' weekly newsmagazine.

28 Jan 2011

Biotage announces release of new Analytical Sample Preparation Catalog

Biotage, a leading supplier of tools and technology for medicinal and analytical chemistry, announced the release of its new Analytical Sample Preparation Catalog. The expanded, 200-page catalog includes a range of products for Bioanalytical, Forensic, Clinical, Environmental, Agrochemical and Food Applications.

27 Jan 2011

Prions responsible for BSE can survive in new host environment

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have shown that prions, bits of infectious protein that can cause fatal neurodegenerative disease such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy or "mad cow disease," have the ability to adapt to survive in a new host environment.

17 Dec 2010

Myotec, Hybrid merge to form PsiOxus Therapeutics

Myotec Therapeutics, Ltd. and Hybrid BioSystems, Ltd. today announced their merger to form PsiOxus Therapeutics, Ltd. (PsiOxus), a new, development stage biotechnology company using non-traditional approaches to novel therapeutics for cancer and wasting diseases. PsiOxus, which will be led by CEO Dr. John Beadle, boasts a combined pipeline of phase I and II clinical stage assets.

15 Dec 2010