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Nanotechnology can help better assess whether cancer drugs hit their targets

A Purdue University biochemist has demonstrated a process using nanotechnology to better assess whether cancer drugs hit their targets, which may help reduce drug side effects.

6 Apr 2011

Medical industry veteran set to play key role as Microvisk gears up to launch Smartstrip®

Microvisk Technologies, the developer of a handheld system to monitor the blood clotting status of patients taking the drug Warfarin, today announced that it has strengthened its Board with the appointment of medical industry veteran, Bill Moffitt, as Chairman and Peter Whitehouse as CFO.

4 Apr 2011

Study: Nanoparticles can prevent nickel-induced dermatitis

Tiny particles only billionths of a meter in diameter-about two thousand would fit across the width of a human hair-could offer big hope in a small package to the many millions of people who are allergic to the nickel in everything from jewelry to coins and cell phones, say scientists at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

4 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

Interdisciplinary approach leads to breakthroughs in bio nanotechnology research

Focusing on interdisciplinary research is now leading to breakthroughs in bio nanotechnology research. A new method for drug development has become a reality.

2 Apr 2011

Mucus may play a key role in penetration of hydrophobic substances into cells

Are our bodies vulnerable to some pollutants whose lack of solubility in water, or "hydrophobicity," has always been thought to protect us from them? New Tel Aviv University research has discovered that this is indeed the case.

31 Mar 2011

Nanotechnology-based biosensor may allow early cancer, pathogen detection

A nanotechnology-based biosensor being developed by Kansas State University researchers may allow early detection of both cancer cells and pathogens, leading to increased food safety and reduced health risks.

30 Mar 2011

Multiple drugs bonded to 'transport vehicle' bypass healthy cells to attack breast cancer from inside

Researchers at Cedars-Sinai's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute have employed a strategy using a mouse model to target important mechanisms inside the most challenging breast cancer cells. Earlier studies at Cedars-Sinai found a similar approach effective in attacking malignant brain tumor targets.

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

Conference to address new treatments, technologies from biomedical research

New treatments and technologies emerging from the field of biomedical research have prompted demands for updated ethical guidelines.

28 Mar 2011

Study develops new approaches for sorting out complexities of cancer cells

New drugs that specifically target the mutated genes responsible for cancer growth have shown great success in extending the lives of patients, with far fewer side effects than conventional anti-cancer therapies. Unfortunately, many patients become resistant to these drugs due to secondary mutations.

25 Mar 2011

Quantum dots allow stem cell therapy monitoring for brain injury

A new technique using "quantum dots" produced through nanotechnology is a promising approach to monitoring the effects of stem cell therapies for stroke and other types of brain damage, reports the April issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

25 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

CMU's CNAST receives DSF Charitable Foundation grant to develop novel biomedical tools

The DSF Charitable Foundation has given a $3.9 million grant to Carnegie Mellon University's Center for Nucleic Acids Science and Technology to further the development of novel biomedical tools targeted at monitoring and manipulating gene expression.

22 Mar 2011

Positive results from azide drug-loaded Emulsiphan preclinical toxicity study

Cornerstone Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leader in cancer metabolism-based therapeutics, today announced encouraging results of a preclinical toxicity study of azide drug-loaded Emulsiphan nano emulsions conducted with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) under a Collaboration Agreement. Emulsiphan is Cornerstone's proprietary nanoparticle drug delivery system.

14 Mar 2011

Nanotechnology might provide greater efficacy of medicines for brain disease

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. De Waard: "Many current medicines are not easily dissolved in the digestive tract, which means that they barely reach the bloodstream.

14 Mar 2011

Caltech students receive Lemelson-MIT Prize for innovative disease diagnostic technology works

California Institute of Technology graduate student Guoan Zheng is the recipient of the 2011 $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Caltech Student Prize.

10 Mar 2011

Professor utilizes $300,000 N.Y. grant to study adult neural stem cells

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering Deanna Thompson is utilizing more than $300,000 in New York state funding as part of the state stem cell research program, NYSTEM, to study adult neural stem cells.

10 Mar 2011

Smart technology for healthy longevity

A national policy is required for the research, demonstration, commercialisation and wide-scale deployment of smart technology for ageing-in-place to ensure: a healthy, safe, secure and fulfilling future for the increasing aged population in Australia by enabling them to remain at home longer, by easing the strain on the national healthcare system and providing cost effective solutions to meet the needs of the growing number of elderly Australians.

9 Mar 2011

Single-wall carbon nanotubes targeted and killed cancer cells without harming the healthy cells

SouthWest NanoTechnologies’ (SWeNT) Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes (SWCNT) exhibit promising potential for use in biomedical treatments such as cancer photo thermal therapies, new research reveals.

8 Mar 2011