Chitosan News and Research

RSS

Chitosan is a naturally occuring polymer isolated from crab and shrimp shells. Chitosan has shown promise as a carrier of anticancer drugs, antitumor genes, and other novel therapeutics.

Zeria to market, distribute, and sell HemCon's wound and oral care dressings in Japan

HemCon Medical Technologies, Inc., an innovative developer of advanced medical products, is proud to announce the signing of an exclusive licensing agreement with Zeria Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., a leading pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare products company. Through this partnership, Zeria will market, distribute, and sell HemCon's line of revolutionary wound and oral care dressings throughout Japan.

9 Apr 2010

Chitosan put forward as effective alternative to growth-promoting antibiotics in the diet of ruminants

The natural-occurring biopolymer known as chitosan is being put forward as an effective alternative to growth-promoting antibiotics in the diet of ruminants, according to research carried out by scientists at the Basque technological centre, Neiker-Tecnalia.

1 Mar 2010

New 3D scaffold for stem cell renewal

Medical researchers were shocked to discover that virtually all human embryonic stem cell lines being used in 2005 were contaminated. Animal byproducts used to line Petri dishes had left traces on the human cells. If those cells had been implanted in a human body they likely would have been rejected by the patient's immune system.

3 Feb 2010

Rice, TMC team wins stimulus funds for nanoparticle standardization

One of the promises of nanomedicine is the design of tiny particles that can home in on diseased cells and get inside them. Nanoparticles can carry drugs into cells and tag cells for MRI and other diagnostic tests; and they may eventually even enter a cell's nucleus to repair damaged genes. Unfortunately, designing them involves as much luck as engineering.

11 Dec 2009

New range of foods from marine animals and plants to help fight human diseases

Milk drinks that lower blood pressure, meat products that reduce the risk of heart disease, chocolate that calms you down and a new range of foods that can fight obesity can be created from marine animals and plants. Japan already has several product ranges on the shelves and research programmes are underway all over the world to create more.

15 Oct 2009

$Using moldable pastes to repair fractures in the future$

Using moldable pastes to repair fractures in the future

New stem cell studies at the University of Maryland Dental School demonstrate that surgeons could one day routinely use strong, moldable, and injectable pastes to regenerate needed bone tissue to repair broken bones, fractures, genetic defects, even combat bone wounds.

23 Sep 2009

HemCon Medical Technologies and Zimmer Dental sign distribution agreement

HemCon Medical Technologies, Inc. (“HemCon”), a leading developer of advanced medical products, is proud to announce the signing of an exclusive global distribution agreement with Zimmer Dental Inc., a leading provider of dental oral rehabilitation products and a subsidiary of Zimmer Holdings, Inc.

15 Sep 2009

Third human clinical trial of LigoCyte's norovirus vaccine started

LigoCyte Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it has initiated its third human clinical trial of its norovirus vaccine. The Phase I/II study will assess safety and immunogenicity associated with LigoCyte's investigational, nasally-delivered, dry powder vaccine in healthy adults. The study will also assess potential protection against clinical symptoms of norovirus infection by including a live virus challenge of subjects that have received either the vaccine or placebo.

8 Sep 2009

Chitosan and polyester ‘combo’ creates mixed-fiber material for nerve repair

In the clothing industry it's common to mix natural and synthetic fibers. Take cotton and add polyester to make clothing that's soft, breathable and wrinkle free.

17 Jun 2009

Chitosan for space travel injuries

A team of researchers is seeking to determine if an ingredient found in shrimp and lobster shells might make future missions to Mars safer for space crews who could be injured along the way.

24 Jul 2007

Natural polymer Chitin shows great healing properties

Chitin is a polymer very common in nature as part of animals' and plants' physical structures.

16 Jul 2007

Nanoparticle delivery of insulin gene to fight juvenile diabetes developed

A safer method to deliver the insulin gene to diabetes patients using nanoparticles, was presented at the 10th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene Therapy (ASGT) in Seattle.

3 Jun 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

Nanoparticles yield delivery tools for therapeutic nucleic acids

Cancer researchers hold great hope that nucleic acid-based therapeutics, such as anticancer genes, antisense oligonucleotides, and small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules, will prove to be powerful antitumor agents.

16 Jan 2007

In vivo tumor targeting and radionuclide imaging with self-assembled nanoparticles

In an attempt to determine what factors make one nanoparticle better than another at targeting tumors, a team of investigators in Korea have conducted a systematic tumor-targeting study of a variety of self-assembling nanoparticles.

18 Dec 2006

Nanotechnology continues to advance anticancer gene therapy

Given that cancer is a disease in which genetic errors play a major role, it should come as no surprise that many experts envision a time when gene therapy will play an equally important role in the treatment of cancer.

20 Nov 2006

Self-assembling nanoparticle releases drug into cell cytoplasm

A growing body of research leaves no doubt that nanoparticles can transport drugs into cancer cells, but what is less clear is that the drug payload can exit the tiny endosomes that pull nanoparticles into cells.

30 Oct 2006

Scientists develop magnetic nanoparticles for medicine

Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles have already proven their utility for imaging metastatic breast cancer lesions in sentinel lymph nodes, and numerous groups are attempting to use iron nanoparticles in other imaging applications.

5 Sep 2006

Dietary supplement chitosan shows some promise in treating obesity

The dietary supplement chitosan shows some promise in treating overweight and obesity but has not been shown conclusively to be an effective weight loss aid, according to a new systematic review of current evidence.

23 Aug 2005

Textiles with permanent antibacterial properties

Antimicrobial agents are not new to the marketplace. Our stores are filled with antibacterial soaps and gels, and in a post-9/11 world, wearable protection from biological agents is in increasing demand. So far, antimicrobial textile production has used coatings that can wash away over time, reducing the useful life of protective clothing.

21 Jun 2005