Nanoparticle News and Research

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In nanotechnology, a particle is defined as a small object that behaves as a whole unit in terms of its transport and properties. It is further classified according to size: in terms of diameter, fine particles cover a range between 100 and 2500 nanometers, while ultrafine particles, on the other hand, are sized between 1 and 100 nanometers.

Plants shown to accumulate nanoparticles in tissues

Researchers at the University of Delaware have provided what is believed to be the first experimental evidence that plants can take up nanoparticles and accumulate them in their tissues.

12 Nov 2008

Nanoparticles dramatically improve effectiveness of antibacterial treatments

Scientists at the University of Liverpool have developed a new technology which can dramatically improve the effectiveness of antibacterial treatments.

7 Nov 2008

Scientists at MIT create backpacks for cells which deliver chemotherapy agents

MIT engineers have outfitted cells with tiny "backpacks" that could allow them to deliver chemotherapy agents, diagnose tumors or become building blocks for tissue engineering.

7 Nov 2008

Starpharma's VivaGelR patent approved in Japan

Starpharma Holdings Limited today announced that one of its key patents relating to the use of dendrimers to protect against sexually transmitted infections has been approved in Japan.

29 Oct 2008

New small device able to counts viruses in minutes

Scientists in New Zealand have invented a small device able to count in a matter of minutes how many viruses are in a sample.

29 Oct 2008

Nanoparticles target multiple cancer genes, shrink tumors more effectively

Nanoparticles filled with small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules targeting two genes that trigger melanoma have shown that they can inhibit the development of melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer.

27 Oct 2008

New technique sees into tissue at greater depth, resolution

By coupling a kicked-up version of microscopy with gold nanoparticles, investigators at Duke University have been able to peer so deeply into living tissue that they can see molecules interacting.

27 Oct 2008

Near-infrared nanoparticles shine a bright light on cancer

A new nanoparticle-enabled imaging method for breast cancer has been developed by a team of scientists from Penn State. Their research, utilizing encapsulated fluorescent molecules in calcium phosphate nanoparticles and nontoxic near infrared (NIR) imaging, appears in the journal ACS Nano.

27 Oct 2008

Nanoparticles, so small, seep right through the skin

Scientists are warning that tiny particles - nanoparticles - are so small that they can be absorbed through the skin.

1 Oct 2008

When particles are so small that they seep right through skin

Scientists are finding that particles that are barely there - tiny objects known as nanoparticles that have found a home in electronics, food containers, sunscreens, and a variety of applications - can breech our most personal protective barrier: The skin.

30 Sep 2008

Hybrid nanoparticles image and treat tumors

By combining a magnetic nanoparticle, a fluorescent quantum dot, and an anticancer drug within a lipid-based nanoparticle, a multi-institutional research team headed by members of the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer has created a single agent that can image and treat tumors. In addition, this new nanoparticle is able to avoid detection by the immune system, enabling the particle to remain in the body for extended periods of time.

28 Sep 2008

Targeted nanoparticles map tumor blood supply in 3-D, assess therapy

One of the defining characteristics of solid tumors is the development of a network of new blood vessels to nourish the rapidly reproducing malignant cells. Now, using a nanoparticle targeted to those new blood vessels, a joint academic-industrial research team, led by investigators from the Siteman Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence, has developed a way to construct a three-dimensional (3-D) map of tumor-induced angiogenesis and monitor the effects of drug therapies on those new blood vessels.

28 Sep 2008

Multifunctional polymer nanoparticles pass critical in vivo test

In an effort to overcome the drug resistance that often occurs in cancer, a team of investigators has developed a nanoparticle made of a blend of polymers that first releases a powerful anticancer drug and then delivers an agent that tricks a drug-resistant cell into committing suicide. Now, tests in mice with human breast cancer have shown that these blended nanoparticles are effective in maintaining high levels of both drugs in the vicinity of tumors.

28 Sep 2008

Nanobubbles deliver targeted cancer drugs using ultrasound

Using a combination of polymers that respond to temperature, a research team at the University of Utah has developed a multifunctional nanoparticle that can image tumors using ultrasound and simultaneously deliver cell-damaging energy and anticancer drugs to those tumors. In addition, these nanoparticles appear to act specifically on tumors and not on healthy tissue.

28 Sep 2008

Anticancer drug triggers nanoparticle formation, improves stability in vivo

Paclitaxel is a powerful anticancer agent used to treat a variety of malignancies, but severe side effects limit its ultimate effectiveness and utility. To improve this drug's pharmacological properties, researchers have turned to nanoparticle-based delivery agents, although with marginal success; stably trapping large amounts of paclitaxel in most nanoparticles has proven difficult.

28 Sep 2008

Scientists develop nanometer-sized 'cargo ships' to target and destroy tumors

Scientists have developed nanometer-sized 'cargo ships' that can sail throughout the body via the bloodstream without immediate detection from the body's immune radar system and ferry their cargo of anti-cancer drugs and markers into tumors that might otherwise go untreated or undetected.

11 Sep 2008

New nanotechnology paints for hospitals could kill superbugs

New nanotechnology paints for walls, ceilings, and surfaces could be used to kill hospital superbugs when fluorescent lights are switched on, scientists heard today (Wednesday 10 September 2008) at the Society for General Microbiology's Autumn meeting being held this week at Trinity College, Dublin.

9 Sep 2008

Gold nanorods for medical applications

Gold nanoparticles are under consideration for a number of biomedical applications, such as tumor treatment. A German-American research team at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Hunter College in New York, and the RWTH Aachen has now developed a new method for the production of nanoscopic gold rods. In contrast to previous methods, they have achieved this without the use of cytotoxic additives.

8 Sep 2008

Scientists engineer first drug-delivery particles capable of passing through human mucus

Chemical engineers from Johns Hopkins University have broken the "mucus barrier," engineering the first drug-delivery particles capable of passing through human mucus - regarded by many as nearly impenetrable - and carrying medication that could treat a range of diseases. Those conditions include lung cancer, cervical cancer and cystic fibrosis, the research noted in a presentation scheduled for the 236th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.

20 Aug 2008

Dual-mode nanoparticles image tumors using MRI and PET

Medical imaging represents one of the most used and useful procedures in the oncologist's diagnostic toolkit, even though each of the most useful techniques-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerized tomography x-ray imaging (CT), and positron emission tomography (PET) scanning-has its own set of limitations.

17 Aug 2008