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Polymer nanoparticles for immunotherapy from encapsulated tumor-associated antigens and whole tumor cells

Using a biodegradable nanoparticle as a means of delivering tumor cell debris and proteins to the immune system, investigators at Yale University have developed a promising new method for creating therapeutic anticancer vaccines.

29 Jan 2007

RNA used to turn on genes to alleviate disease

A new technique that employs RNA, a tiny chemical cousin of DNA, to turn on genes could lead to therapeutics for conditions in which nudging a gene awake would help alleviate disease, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center say.

28 Jan 2007

Scientists find surprising way of switching off a gene involved in cell division

Scientists at the University of Oxford have identified a surprising way of switching off a gene involved in cell division.

22 Jan 2007

Nanoscale "egg" to deliver platinum to tumor cells

Researchers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology have developed a nanoscale "egg" that could safely deliver platinum, a known anticancer agent, to tumor cells.

22 Jan 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

New embryonic cell discovery

Cambridge scientists have discovered the stage at which some of the cells of a fertilised mammalian egg are fated to develop into stem cells and why this occurs.

10 Jan 2007

Stem cells from amniotic fluid no substitute for embryonic cells

The Genetics Policy Institute (GPI) applauds the discovery of apparently versatile stem cells in amniotic fluid as a positive development, but cautions that the research does not eliminate the need for embryonic stem cell research.

8 Jan 2007

Interleukin-13 receptor-targeted nanovesicles are a potential therapy for glioblastoma multiforme

Glioblastoma multiforme is among the most aggressive and difficult cancers to treat. Now, researchers at Penn State University have shown that a lipid-based nanoparticle, designed to bind to a specific receptor found on malignant brain cells but not healthy ones, improves the potency of a common anticancer drug and slows significantly the growth of glioblastoma in mice.

8 Jan 2007

A fully integrated microfluidic genetic analysis system with sample-in-answer-out capability

In an accomplishment that represents a significant step toward an era of rapid, inexpensive, bedside testing for cancer, researchers at the University of Virginia have developed a microfluidic device that can process human blood samples and yield diagnostic results within an hour.

8 Jan 2007

Optical and magnetic resonance imaging of cell death and platelet activation using annexin A5-functionalized quantum dots

By combining a quantum dot with a novel carrier of the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) agent gadolinium, a team of investigators at the University of Maastricht, in The Netherlands, has developed a nanoparticle that can spot apoptosis, or programmed cell death, using both MRI and fluorescence imaging.

8 Jan 2007

Dendrimer-encapsulated camptothecins

With an eye toward developing a delivery vehicle for anticancer agents that are poorly soluble in water, a research team at Boston University and the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) has developed a biocompatible dendrimer that wraps itself around water-insoluble drugs.

8 Jan 2007

In vivo biodistribution and highly efficient tumour targeting of carbon nanotubes in mice

In the first experiment of its kind, investigators at the Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence Focused on Therapy Response (CCNE-TR), based at Stanford University, have shown that single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) wrapped in poly(ethylene glycol), or PEG, can successfully target tumors in living animals.

8 Jan 2007

Stem cells grown into brain cells on a new 3D scaffold of tiny protein fragments

An MIT engineer and Italian colleagues will report the invention-which may one day replace the ubiquitous Petri dish for growing cells-in PLoS ONE.

2 Jan 2007

Scientists visualize influenza virus particles

Scientists at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), and colleagues at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville have succeeded in imaging, in unprecedented detail, the virus that causes influenza.

2 Jan 2007

Characterizing the environmental, health, and safety implications of nanotechnology

A new analysis of the Federal government’s efforts to study the environmental, health, and safety (EHS) implications of nanotechnology concludes that sound management will play as important a role as good science when it comes to addressing these concerns.

18 Dec 2006

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

Better magnetic nanoparticles

Using a polymer coating designed to resemble the outer surface of a cell membrane, a team of investigators led by Steve Armes, Ph.D., of the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom, has created a highly stable, biocompatible magnetic nanoparticle expected to improve the sensitivity of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

18 Dec 2006

Aptamer-capped nanocrystal quantum dots

Quantum dots, used increasingly as bright fluorescent markers in basic research and diagnostic assays, must be coated, or capped, with one of a wide variety of organic molecules in order to stabilize these nanocrystals and prevent them from aggregating when added to water.

18 Dec 2006

Nanostructured calcium phosphates (NanoCaPs) for non-viral gene delivery

Though gene therapies hold great promise for treating cancer, it has proven difficult to deliver therapeutic genes efficiently into cancer cells.

18 Dec 2006

Mammalian pharmacokinetics of carbon nanotubes using intrinsic near-infrared fluorescence

In the first experiments of their kind, researchers have determined that carbon nanotubes injected directly into the bloodstream of research lab animals cause no immediate adverse health effects and circulate for more than one hour before they are removed by the liver.

18 Dec 2006

Medical Science News

Polymer nanoparticles for immunotherapy from encapsulated tumor-associated antigens and whole tumor cells

RNA used to turn on genes to alleviate disease

Scientists find surprising way of switching off a gene involved in cell division

Nanoscale "egg" to deliver platinum to tumor cells

Nanoparticles from crab shells show promise for drug delivery

New embryonic cell discovery

Stem cells from amniotic fluid no substitute for embryonic cells

Interleukin-13 receptor-targeted nanovesicles are a potential therapy for glioblastoma multiforme

A fully integrated microfluidic genetic analysis system with sample-in-answer-out capability

Optical and magnetic resonance imaging of cell death and platelet activation using annexin A5-functionalized quantum dots

Dendrimer-encapsulated camptothecins

In vivo biodistribution and highly efficient tumour targeting of carbon nanotubes in mice

Stem cells grown into brain cells on a new 3D scaffold of tiny protein fragments

Scientists visualize influenza virus particles

Characterizing the environmental, health, and safety implications of nanotechnology

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

Better magnetic nanoparticles

Aptamer-capped nanocrystal quantum dots

Nanostructured calcium phosphates (NanoCaPs) for non-viral gene delivery

Mammalian pharmacokinetics of carbon nanotubes using intrinsic near-infrared fluorescence

Real-time Raman monitoring for pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

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