Nanoparticles News and Research

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Hollow gold nanospheres show promise in cancer therapy

A new metal nanostructure developed by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has already shown promise in cancer therapy studies and could be used for chemical and biological sensors and other applications as well.

22 Mar 2009

Coatings that kill superbugs

Researchers at the University of Bath are to be part of a 3 million Euros Europe-wide research collaboration to pioneer research into safer, more effective anti-bacterial plastics and coatings that can be used in items such as food packaging, medical devices to wound dressings, and nappies.

20 Mar 2009

FDA looks at nanotechnology for the detection of anthrax

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has completed a "proof-of-concept" study of a test that quickly and accurately detects the presence of even the smallest amount of the deadly anthrax toxin.

17 Mar 2009

Twin nanoparticle targets then zaps breast cancer cells

Breast cancer patients face many horrors, including those that arise when fighting the cancer itself.

11 Mar 2009

First 'nano' treatments to target cancer cells

Cancer Research UK scientists have for the first time developed a treatment that transports 'tumour busting' genes selectively to cancer cells, according to a study published online in Cancer Research.

11 Mar 2009

Azaya Therapeutics selected for Nanotechnology Characterization Lab by National Cancer Institute

Azaya Therapeutics, Inc. has announced that it has been selected by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for a research collaboration to study Azaya's lead cancer therapy, ATI - 1123.

10 Mar 2009

Polymer-coated spheres provide bring possibilities for pharma

Amphiphilic molecules, which have one water-friendly (hydrophilic) end and one water-repellant (hydrophobic) end, spontaneously aggregate in aqueous solutions to make superstructures like capsules or bilayers.

8 Mar 2009

Small magnetic particles navigate therapeutic genes through the body

Health professionals send genes and healthy cells on their way through the bloodstream so that they can, for example, repair tissue damage to arteries.

5 Mar 2009

Patented inventions double at University at Buffalo

An antibody with the potential to stop breast cancer in its path. A nanoparticle that can address a side effect of the treatment that hemophiliacs cannot live without. A "quantum dot" with the potential to treat cancer or harvest the power of the sun. An air purifier that kills the world's nastiest toxins.

5 Mar 2009

Researchers develop 'wireless' activation of brain circuits

Traditionally, stimulating nerves or brain tissue involves cumbersome wiring and a sharp metal electrode.

23 Feb 2009

Gold nanoparticles improve gene regulation

Investigators at Northwestern University have found that packing small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules onto the surface of a gold nanoparticle can protect siRNAs from degradation and increase their ability to regulate genes involved in cancer. As a result of this discovery, cancer researchers have at their disposal a relatively straightforward method of delivering these potent gene-regulating agents into targeted cells.

23 Feb 2009

Targeted nanospheres find, penetrate, then fuel burning of melanoma

Hollow gold nanospheres equipped with a targeting peptide find melanoma cells, penetrate them deeply, and then cook the tumor when bathed with near-infrared light. When heated with lasers, the actively targeted hollow gold nanospheres did eight times more damage to melanoma tumors in mice than did the same nanospheres that gathered less directly in the tumors.

23 Feb 2009

Radiolabeled nanoparticles boost PET-CT combination imaging

In an attempt to decrease the amount of cancer-targeting nanoparticle needed to image tumors, a team of investigators at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School has developed a simple method for creating iron oxide nanoparticles labeled with 18F, a radioisotope that is easily detected using positron emission tomography (PET). The result is a nanoparticle that can be imaged using PET, computerized tomography (CT), and fluorescence imaging.

23 Feb 2009

Nanoparticles detect dying cancer cells

Two years ago, researchers at the University of South Australia discovered a new molecular marker specific for chemotherapy-induced cancer cell death. Now, those same investigators have used this marker to develop an imaging agent that can pinpoint tumor cell death using magnetic resonance imaging.

23 Feb 2009

Tiny flakes of silicon spotlight tumors, deliver drugs

Small is promising when it comes to illuminating tiny tumors or precisely delivering drugs, but many worry about the safety of nano-scale materials.

22 Feb 2009

New possibilities for the uses of nanoparticles

Chemistry researchers at the University of Warwick have found that tiny nanoparticles could be twice as likely to stick to the interface of two non mixing liquids than previously believed.

17 Feb 2009

New understanding of health implications of nanoparticles

The smallest nano-sized silica particles used in biomedicine and engineering likely won't cause unexpected biological responses due to their size, according to work presented today.

16 Feb 2009

Advances in vivo biological imaging

The Springer journal Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry (ABC) has chosen the chemist Wei Sun (26) as the recipient of its Best Paper Award 2008.

8 Feb 2009

Researchers 'tighten' body's protective coating

A net with large holes won't catch small fish. Likewise, the microscopic fibers in the protective mucus coatings of the eyes, lungs, stomach or reproductive system naturally bundle together and allow the tiniest disease-causing bugs, allergens or pollutants to slip by.

8 Feb 2009

Peptide loaded gold nanospheres find, penetrate, then fuel burning of melanoma

Hollow gold nanospheres equipped with a targeting peptide find melanoma cells, penetrate them deeply, and then cook the tumor when bathed with near-infrared light, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reported in the Feb. 1 issue of Clinical Cancer Research.

2 Feb 2009