The year: 2034. Breast cancer patients benefit from perfectly personalised diagnostics and therapies. The tedium of follow-up treatments is a thing of the past, thanks to AI, augmented reality and robotics. Just a tale from the realm of science fiction, or could this soon be clinical reality? At the annual meeting of the German Senologic Society, Prof Dr Marc Thill from the Agaplesion Markus…
Before administering certain drugs, doctors check a patient’s kidney function by testing their blood urea nitrogen and creatinine levels. New research shows that gold nanoparticles might give more accurate results.
A new method could lead to a significantly more precise and reliable diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. It is based on the selective detection of specific antibodies in blood samples.
Enzyme-driven nanorobots could be used in the treatment of joint diseases such as arthritis. A new research project explores the potential of this technology.
Smaller kills faster – this is what was previously thought about gold nanoparticles used to fight cancer cells. However, new research reveals a more complex picture of these interactions.
In more than one in six patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, the tumour is initially diagnosed at a non-metastatic primarily unresectable, locally advanced stage (LAPC). For these patients, a new internal radiation procedure, OncoSil™ brachytherapy, may become a treatment option – in Germany, around 858 patients could benefit from this innovation annually.
Researchers have developed a gel that breaks down alcohol in the GI tract without harming the body. In the future, people who take the gel could reduce the harmful and intoxicating effects of alcohol.
A new approach to vaccine development could produce vaccines before the disease-causing pathogen – such as a new variant of the coronavirus Sars-CoV-2 – even emerges.
Diamond dust could be used in MR imaging, a surprising find shows. The nanometer-sized particles could serve as an alternative to the controversial contrast agent gadolinium.
A newly-developed material made of proteins shows promise for targeted cancer therapies: Like secretory granules in the endocrine system, it delivers nanoparticles which attack specific cancer cells.
An innovative solution based on nanotechnology and ultrasound could prevent over-treatment of patients with rectal cancer. The magnetomotive ultrasound system uses nanotechnology for reliable diagnosis of any spread of rectal cancer to nearby lymph nodes.
A new soldering technique developed by Empa researchers is expected to prevent wound healing disorders and life-threatening complications from leaking sutures.
New research demonstrates how tiny nanomachines could greatly reduce bladder cancer by precisely targeting the tumour and attacking it with a radioisotope carried on their surface.
A research team has developed a nanoparticle-based contrast agent with the properties necessary to successfully use MRI for targeted diagnosis of liver fibrosis.
Contraception, wound healing, arthritis treatment: Here are three recent papers published in ACS journals that could expand the beneficial uses for nanoparticles, based on results in rats.
Using a new technology developed at MIT, diagnosing lung cancer could become as easy as inhaling nanoparticle sensors and then taking a urine test that reveals whether a tumor is present.
A research team has successfully developed “NK cell-engaging nanodrones” capable of selectively targeting and eliminating cancer cells, offering a potential solution for intractable cancer types.
A low-cost technology involving nano-sized antimicrobial compounds against tuberculosis has been developed by researchers at São Paulo State University (UNESP).
Breaking & entering – on a minuscule scale: US researchers have shown how some pathogens like Toxoplasma can enter cells using physical force to cause an infection.
A new nanocomplex renders a tumor harmless – and, on top of that, it trains the immune system to detect and eliminate metastases.
A new device that combines microfluidics on paper, electrochemical transduction and immunoassays on magnetic nanoparticles is useful for easy and rapid diagnosis of lung diseases.
Researchers at NIST have been working on several fronts to advance low-field MRI technology and validate methods for creating images with weaker magnetic fields.
Plastics are a part of everyday life, and an increasingly concerning factor of global environmental pollution. They also have infiltrated our bodies as microparticles (MPs) and nanoparticles (NPs), found even in placentas supporting foetal life. And they are in our blood. Now, researchers in Spain have developed a new method to detect and measure nanoparticles in human peripheral blood that is…
To ensure that wounds remain tightly sealed in the abdomen after surgery, researchers at Empa and ETH Zurich have developed a patch with a sensor function.
New research has identified a potential therapeutic target and developed a unique delivery system to treat osteosarcoma, a bone cancer that primarily affects children and adolescents.
Getting vaccines to people who need them isn't always easy. Many vaccines require cold storage, making it difficult to ship them to remote areas that don't have the necessary infrastructure.
Researchers at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) have developed a new type of nanoparticles inspired by the structure of amyloids, capable of neutralising the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
A newly developed rapid test needs only a few seconds to reliably detect pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2. It is based on specially designed magnetic nanoparticles.
Treatment of central nervous system diseases and tumors is often hindered by the blood-brain barrier. A new method aims to overcome this obstacle using focused ultrasound intranasal delivery (FUSIN).
The development of a simple blood test for glioblastomas could mean earlier diagnosis and more effective and personalised treatment options against the most common type of malignant brain cancer.
A sprayable coating that can prevent the surface spread of infection from bacteria and viruses – including Covid-19 – over a sustained period has been developed by Australian researchers.
A new type of vaccine provides protection against a variety of SARS-like betacoronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2 variants, in mice and monkeys, according to a new study.
To develop new drugs, detailed knowledge about nature’s smallest biological building blocks is required. A new microscopy technique that allows proteins, DNA and other tiny biological particles to be studied in their natural state.
Researchers have developed 3D printed artificial heart valves designed to allow a patient’s own cells to form new tissue.
A method for delivering genetic material to the body that has proven useful in Covid-19 vaccination is now being tested as a way to repair damaged heart muscle after a heart attack.
Point-of-care testing (POCT) is a “win-win” scenario for patients and healthcare professionals in delivering care when and where it is needed, according to pathologist Adil Khan, MSc, PhD.
Researchers have succeeded in using metal oxide nanoparticles as "radiosensitizers" – and in producing them on an industrial scale.
Scientists reported the key role of histone acetylation-regulated long noncoding RNA termed as lysosome cell death regulator (LCDR) in tumor survival, providing a potential diagnostic and therapeutic target for lung cancer.
The joint research team of Prof. Hongsoo Choi (DGIST) & Prof. Sung Won Kim (Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital), developed an hNTSC-based microrobot for minimally invasive delivery into the brain tissue via the intranasal pathway.
Treating diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s is a challenge because drugs have to be able to cross the blood–brain barrier. As a result, the doses administered must be high and only a small fraction reaches the brain, which can lead to significant systemic side effects.
Hokkaido University scientists and colleagues in Japan have found a way that could help some patients overcome resistance to an immunotherapy treatment for cancer. The approach, proven in mice experiments, was reported in the Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer.
Imaging company Lumito has secured a European patent for an instrument and staining reagents based on UCNPs (up-converting nanoparticles) for imaging in scattering materials, such as human tissue. The instrument is intended for use in tissue diagnostics, to provide pathologists visual depictions of tissue samples as an input for making diagnosis. The technology is patented across three global…
Magnetic fields can be used to stimulate blood vessel growth, according to a new study. The findings, published in the journal Science and Technology of Advanced Materials by researchers at the Técnico Lisboa and NOVA School of Science and Technology in Portugal, could lead to new treatments for cancers and help regenerate tissues that have lost their blood supply.
Research teams from TU Darmstadt, British and US universities are focusing on one possible main process that leads to the death of brain cells in their investigation of the causes and mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease.
Before the huge potential of tiny nanocarriers for highly targeted drug delivery and environmental clean-up can be realized, scientists first need to be able to see them. Currently researchers have to rely on attaching fluorescent dyes or heavy metals to label parts of organic nanocarrier structures for investigation, often changing them in the process. A new technique using chemically-sensitive…
Bowel cancer survival rates could be improved if chemotherapy drugs were delivered via tiny nanoparticles to the diseased organs rather than oral treatment. That’s the finding from Indian and Australian scientists who have undertaken the first study, using nanoparticles to target bowel cancer, the third most common cancer in the world and the second most deadliest.
New research by University of Texas at Dallas scientists could help solve a major challenge in the deployment of certain Covid-19 vaccines worldwide — the need for the vaccines to be kept at below-freezing temperatures during transport and storage. In a study published online in Nature Communications, the researchers demonstrate a new, inexpensive technique that generates crystalline…
Researchers have developed an innovative method to disrupt the formation of biofilms and thus facilitate the treatment of infections with Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is widely used to identify the narrowing or blockage of blood vessels. Contrast agents improve the visibility of the structures and offer more accurate information of vascular conditions such as vascular blockage and stenosis. Commonly used gadolinium-based contrast agents must be administered in chelated forms due to the gadolinium ions' high toxicity and pose…
There is currently no cure for osteoarthritis, but a group of scientists believe they’ve discovered a method through which a simple knee injection could potentially stop the disease’s effects. These researchers showed that they could target a specific protein pathway in mice, put it into overdrive and halt cartilage degeneration over time. Building on that finding, they were able to show that…
An unfortunate truth about the use of mechanical ventilation to save the lives of patients in respiratory distress is that the pressure used to inflate the lungs is likely to cause further lung damage. In a new study, scientists identified a molecule that is produced by immune cells during mechanical ventilation to try to decrease inflammation, but isn’t able to completely prevent…
Improving the detection of cancerous cells during surgery – this is the goal of the European research project CARMEN. The research institutes Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. (LZH) from Germany and Multitel asbl from Belgium work together with companies from both countries, JenLab GmbH, Deltatec, and LaserSpec, to develop a novel, compact and multimodal imaging system. This could even allow the…
Before the pandemic, the lab of Stanford University biochemist Peter S. Kim focused on developing vaccines for HIV, Ebola and pandemic influenza. But, within days of closing their campus lab space as part of Covid-19 precautions, they turned their attention to a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. Although the coronavirus was outside the lab’s specific area of expertise,…
In the past few decades, researchers have identified biological pathways leading to neurodegenerative diseases and developed promising molecular agents to target them. However, the translation of these findings into clinically approved treatments has progressed at a much slower rate, in part because of the challenges scientists face in delivering therapeutics across the blood-brain barrier (BBB)…
A recent review study concludes that nanoplastics change the composition and diversity of gut microbiome in vertebrates and invertebrates. The effects of a widespread and prolonged exposure to nanoplastics observed in animal models can be applied to humans.
Researchers at Tel Aviv University (TAU) have demonstrated that the CRISPR/Cas9 system is very effective in treating metastatic cancers, a significant step on the way to finding a cure for cancer.
An innovative nanoparticle vaccine candidate for the pandemic coronavirus produces virus-neutralizing antibodies in mice at levels ten-times greater than is seen in people who have recovered from COVID-19 infections. Designed by scientists at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, the vaccine candidate has been transferred to two companies for clinical development.
Chemistry researchers at the University of Strathclyde are aiming to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer – with the use of specially-made quilts. Fellow cancer researchers across the UK are being asked to send diagrams illustrating their work. These will then be used as the patterns for quilts made by skilled crafters. After the project is concluded, the Strathclyde researchers hope to be able…
The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is known to infect cells via the receptor ACE2. An international research team under German-Finnish coordination has now identified neuropilin-1 as a factor that can facilitate SARS-CoV-2 entry into the cells’ interior. Neuropilin-1 is localized in the respiratory and olfactory epithelia, which could be a strategically important localization to contribute to…
Scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed a synthetic peptide that can make multidrug-resistant bacteria sensitive to antibiotics again when used together with traditional antibiotics, offering hope for the prospect of a combination treatment strategy to tackle certain antibiotic-tolerant infections.
Scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) have showed that applying “temporal pressure” to the skin of mice can create a new way to deliver drugs. In a paper published in Science Advances, the researchers showed that bringing together two magnets so that they pinch and apply pressure to a fold of…
Manganese and iron oxide contrast agents can replace gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCA) in a number of MRI examinations, but gadolinium remains a strong candidate when properly indicated, especially with AI-driven dose reduction and advances to increase relaxivity, a French expert explained at ECR 2020. GBCA have been MRI companions for many years. In France, 30% of all MR examinations are…
A team of scientists at the Russian National University of Science and Technology MISiS, together with colleagues from Russia and Germany, have presented a detailed study of magnetite-gold nanohybrids. In the future, such nanoparticles can help in theranostics — the diagnostics and subsequent therapy of oncological diseases. The results of the work have been published in the Journal of…
Researchers have designed a fluid that works like a luminous ink to obtain very sharp images of damaged tissues, organs and cartilages in diagnostic tests. This new compound, still in the laboratory phase, reduces adverse effects on the human body because it allows lower amounts to be injected and the dose to be targeted only at the affected area.
Chemical binding company Affix Labs has created the first long-lasting surface treatment proven to kill COVID-19. Si-Quat combines a safe and well-established disinfectant and a proprietary chemical binding technique, so that the active ingredient can kill viruses, including SARS-CoV-2. Testing at Portugal’s Biochemistry Institute at the University of Lisbon proves that Si-Quat effectively…
Johns Hopkins scientists report the successful use of nanoparticles to deliver gene therapy for blinding eye disease. A uniquely engineered large molecule allows researchers to compact large bundles of therapeutic DNA to be delivered into the cells of the eye.
Nanoparticles cloaked in human lung cell membranes and human immune cell membranes can attract and neutralize the SARS-CoV-2 virus in cell culture, causing the virus to lose its ability to hijack host cells and reproduce.
Early detection of tumors is extremely important in treating cancer. A new technique developed by researchers at the University of California, Davis, offers a significant advance in using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to pick out even very small tumors from normal tissue. The work is published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. Chemical probes that produce a signal on MRI can be used to…
A new way to deliver therapeutic proteins inside the body uses an acoustically sensitive carrier to encapsulate the proteins and ultrasound to image and guide the package to the exact location required, according to Penn State researchers.
A team of researchers from Empa, ETH Zurich and Zurich University Hospital has succeeded in developing a novel sensor for detecting the new coronavirus. In future it could be used to measure the concentration of the virus in the environment - for example in places where there are many people or in hospital ventilation systems. Jing Wang and his team at Empa and ETH Zurich usually work on…
In order for a COVID-19 vaccine and antiviral drugs to be developed, scientists first need to understand why this virus spreads so easily and quickly, and why it invades our bodies with seemingly little resistance from our immune system. To understand how COVID-19 enters the body and does its damage, a team of top researchers from universities, hospitals and the National Research Council of…
People who are at high risk of developing lung cancer, such as heavy smokers, are routinely screened with computed tomography (CT), which can detect tumors in the lungs. However, this test has an extremely high rate of false positives, as it also picks up benign nodules in the lungs. Researchers at the Massachussetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have now developed a new approach to early…
Sepsis—the body's own immune response gone against it—is a major health problem worldwide. It is basically a "hyper" immune response by the body to infection or injury, and is characterized by hyperinflammation, immune system paralysis, cell death, liver and kidney failure, blood clots, and even hemorrhage. An estimated 30 million people suffer from sepsis every year, of which 20%…
Celiac disease affects 0.3-2.4% of people in most countries world-wide, and approx. 2% in Finland. Celiac patients suffer from a variety of symptoms, typically intestinal complaints, such as diarrhea, but are often symptom-free. Immunologist Tobias Freitag co-developed and tested nanoparticles containing gliadin for the immunomodulatory treatment of celiac disease in Professor Seppo Meri’s…
In animals, a vaccine modifying the composition and function of the gut microbiota provides protection against the onset of chronic inflammatory bowel diseases and certain metabolic disorders, such as diabetes and obesity. This research was conducted by the team of Benoît Chassaing, Inserm researcher at Institut Cochin (Inserm/CNRS/Université de Paris), whose initial findings have been…
A material that is particularly toxic when bacteria are present in its environment? Physicists from the University of Augsburg, together with colleagues from Hamburg and Munich, have developed just such an "smart" coating. In the future, it could help prevent complications in the healing of endoprostheses. The coating also offers further advantages: It is extremely wear-resistant and…
Swarms of nanoparticles which are 15,000 times smaller than a pinhead may be able to deliver vital drugs to the brain, offering new hope to patients in the early stages of a stroke. The research, carried out at The University of Manchester, shows that tiny vesicles called liposomes, just 100 nanometres in diameter can translocate through the damaged blood brain barrier following stroke. And that…
Inhalation therapy is widely used for the treatment of lung diseases. Targeting of drugs to the site of disease is a major goal to improve drug efficacy and minimize side effects. Scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the Technical University of Munich have now shown that combined insight from various imaging methods allows for real-time monitoring of the dynamic process of drug…
X-rays could be tuned to deliver a more effective punch that destroys cancer cells and not harm the body, researches from Kyoto University find. Gadolinium delivered into cancer cells releases killer electrons when hit by specially tuned X-rays. The approach, published in the journal Scientific Reports, could pave the way towards a new cancer radiation therapy. “Our method opens up the…
Tiny particles that can fight cancer or that can easily pass through any interface within our body are a great promise for medicine. But there is little knowledge thus far about what exactly will happen to nanoparticles within our tissues and whether or not they can cause disease by themselves. Within an international research consortium, Empa scientists have now developed guidelines that should…
Researchers at the University of Helsinki in collaboration with researchers from Åbo Akademi University (Finland) and Huazhong University of Science and Technology (China) have developed a new anti-cancer nanomedicine for targeted cancer chemotherapy. This new nano-tool provides a new approach to use cell-based nanomedicines for efficient cancer chemotherapy. Exosomes contain various molecular…
Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a new method for producing malleable microstructures – for instance, vascular stents that are 40 times smaller than previously possible. In the future, such stents could be used to help to widen life-threatening constrictions of the urinary tract in foetuses in the womb. Approximately one in every thousand children develops a urethral stricture,…
Analytically sensitive and specific detection of pharmaceuticals or metabolites in bodily fluids, as well as fast and reliable detection of human pathogens, are major challenges for instrument-based analytics in medical diagnostics. Over the past few years the combination of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and microfluidic devices (Lab-on-a-Chip) has emerged as a perfectly suited…
Our eyes – considered by many to be the windows to the soul – need constant care, and as we age, they sometimes also need significant repair. The panes of these windows – the corneas – are transparent tissues that have been the focus of some of the oldest and most common transplantation surgeries. Now thanks to researchers in Kyoto, some such transplants may become even safer. The team,…
Scientists have developed minute flexible robots that could help revolutionise drug delivery in the future. These ‘microrobots’ are so small that they could be ingested, or inserted into human veins to deliver drug therapies directly to diseased body areas.
A proof-of-principle study shows that gold nanoparticles loaded with CRISPR and other gene-editing tools safely and effectively edited blood stem cells.
A quick and easy test to detect cancer from blood or biopsy tissue could eventually result in a new approach to patient diagnosis. The test has been developed by University of Queensland researchers Dr Abu Sina, Dr Laura Carrascosa and Professor Matt Trau, who have discovered a unique DNA nanostructure that appears to be common to all cancers. Cancer is an extremely complicated and variable…
Scientists at the University of Birmingham are working with a Canadian tech company to investigate whether gold nanorods can be used to target cancer cells in the human body. They have joined experts at Sona Nanotech Inc. to develop the next generation of nanorods for tissue imaging. The team will work with its Canadian partners - beginning by creating luminescent nanorods by transforming gold…
Melanin protects our skin from the sun’s damaging rays by absorbing light energy and converting it to heat. This could make it a very effective tool in tumor diagnosis and treatment, as demonstrated by a team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Helmholtz Zentrum München. The scientists managed to create melanin-loaded cell membrane derived nanoparticles, which improved tumor…
Mice with vision enhanced by nanotechnology were able to see infrared light as well as visible light, reports a study published in the journal Cell. A single injection of nanoparticles in the mice’s eyes bestowed infrared vision for up to 10 weeks with minimal side effects, allowing them to see infrared light even during the day and with enough specificity to distinguish between different…
The first total-body positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) that can acquire a 3D image of the human body in a single position received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in January 2019. Its forthcoming commercial availability for clinical use in the United States later this year is the milestone achievement of a multi-institutional consortium…
Molecular imaging is an exciting field for scientists who are willing to explore and innovate, prominent Spanish physicist José María Benlloch pointed out when he reviewed some of the most impacting and recent innovations in his portfolio during a meeting in Valencia. ‘Our mission is to develop innovative sensitive and harmless medical imaging instruments for early detection of diseases and…
Researchers at the University of Waterloo have developed a new way to prevent and treat Chlamydia, the most common sexually transmitted bacterial infection in the world. The new treatment differs from the traditional antibiotic treatment as it is a type of gene therapy that is delivered via nanotechnology and is showing a 65 per cent success rate in preventing chlamydia infection on a single…
Nanoparticles can be found in processed food (e.g. food additives), consumer products (e.g. sunscreen) and even in medicine. While these tiny particles could have large untapped potential and novel new applications, they may have unintended and harmful side effects, according to a recent study by researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS). Specifically, NUS researchers found that…
For decades, women have shouldered most of the burden of contraception. However, long-term use of female birth control pills could increase the risk for side effects such as blood clots or breast cancer. Now, inspired by colorful layered cocktails, researchers have developed a medium-term, reversible male contraceptive. They report their results in the journal ACS Nano. Common forms of male…
Many people who are diagnosed with cancer will undergo some type of surgery to treat their disease — almost 95 percent of people with early-diagnosed breast cancer will require surgery and it’s often the first line of treatment for people with brain tumors, for example. But despite improvements in surgical techniques over the past decade, the cancer often comes back after the procedure. Now,…
The complex structure of breast tumours makes treatment a medical challenge. A promising, novel selenium-based breast cancer nanoparticle therapy by the Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology (acib) together with other partners in the EU-project Neosetac could change that: It has proved to boost the active agent delivery and assure it's active only in the target tissue while also bringing…
Nanomedicine is set to play an increasingly important role in the future diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease. Understanding the importance of nanomedicine was enhanced by four experts who spoke at the British Cardiovascular Society conference held in June. The technology – dealing with dimensions and tolerances of less than 100 nanometres and especially the manipulation of…
A research team led by Arun Iyer, Ph.D., assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences in the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at Wayne State University, has developed a nanoplatform technology that works in combination with existing chemotherapeutic drugs that may reverse drug-resistance in renal cell carcinoma.
Nanomedicine will play an increasingly important role in future diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease, a subject explored in detail by four expert speakers at the British Cardiovascular Society conference in Manchester in June. The conference heard that the technology – dealing with dimensions and tolerances of less than 100 nanometres, especially the manipulation of individual…
A multidisciplinary team of scientists share recent advancements in innovative in-vitro cancer biology methods for screening drug-like molecules in cancer tissue relevant models in a new report published online ahead-of-print at SLAS Discovery. Entitled Advanced Development of Primary Pancreatic Organoid Tumor Models for High-Throughput Phenotypic Drug Screening, the report can be accessed for…
A thin copper wire wrapped around a channel slightly thicker than a strand of hair could be the key to manufacturing a compact electronic device capable of counting white blood cells from the comfort of one’s home, a Kennesaw State University researcher says. Hoseon Lee, an assistant professor of electrical engineering in the Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering…
Holography, like photography, is a way to record the world around us. Both use light to make recordings, but instead of two-dimensional photos, holograms reproduce three-dimensional shapes. The shape is inferred from the patterns that form after light ricochets off an object and interferes with another light wave that serves as a reference. When created with X-ray light, holography can be an…
In standard settings, the analysis of each DNA modification requires a carefully optimised assay that runs under specific conditions. This increases cost and labour and is a severe limitation to throughput. Now, however, researchers at Stanford University and the Technical University of Denmark have come up with a new method that will enable doctors to make a more precise diagnosis, prognosis and…
Tumor imaging technique has potential as anti-cancer weapon, mouse study shows.
Viral infections kill millions of people worldwide every year, but currently available antiviral drugs are limited in that they mostly act against one or a small handful of related viruses. A few broad-spectrum drugs that prevent viral entry into healthy cells exist, but they usually need to be taken continuously to prevent infection, and resistance through viral mutation is a serious risk. Now,…
No visit to the doctor’s office is complete without a blood-pressure cuff squeezing your arm and a cold stethoscope placed on your chest. But what if your vital signs could be gathered, without contact, as you sit in the waiting room or the comfort of your own home? Cornell University engineers have demonstrated a method for gathering blood pressure, heart rate and breath rate using a cheap and…
For many of us, a flu shot is a fall routine. Roll up a sleeve, take a needle to the upper arm and hope this year’s vaccine matches whichever viruses circulate through the winter. The most common method to make that vaccine is now more than 70 years old. It requires growing viruses in special, pathogen-free chicken eggs. It’s not a quick and easy manufacturing process. And, at best, it…
Using light-emitting nanoparticles, Rutgers University-New Brunswick scientists have invented a highly effective method to detect tiny tumors and track their spread, potentially leading to earlier cancer detection and more precise treatment. The technology could improve patient cure rates and survival times. “We’ve always had this dream that we can track the progression of cancer in real…
Scientists are using their increasing knowledge of the complex interaction between cancer and the immune system to engineer increasingly potent anti-cancer vaccines. Now researchers at the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) have developed a synergistic nanovaccine packing DNA and RNA sequences that modulate the immune response, along with anti-tumor antigens, into…
Gold nanoparticles could help make drugs act more quickly and effectively, according to new research conducted at Binghamton University, State University of New York. Nanoparticles are microscopic particles that are bigger than atoms but smaller than what the eye can see. They are unique for their large surface area-to-volume ratio and their fairly ubiquitous nature. A new study, co-conducted by…
A nanolaser known as the spaser can serve as a super-bright, water-soluble, biocompatible probe capable of finding metastasized cancer cells in the blood stream and then killing these cells, according to a new research study.
Researchers at the Swedish Medical Nanoscience Center at Karolinska Institutet have developed an innovative way of hacking conducting plastics so as to prevent bacterial growth.
A certain immune reaction is the key, not to slowing atherosclerosis like cholesterol-lowering drugs do, but instead to reversing a disease that gradually blocks arteries to cause heart attacks and strokes. This is the finding of a study in mice led by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center.
A tiny robot that gets into the human body through the simple medical injection and, passing healthy organs, finds and treats directly the goal – a non-operable tumor… Doesn’t it sound at least like science-fiction? To make it real, a growing number of researchers are now working towards this direction with the prospect of transforming many aspects of healthcare and bioengineering in the…
BBI Solutions has launched Morffi, a novel conjugate blocking technology that enhances signal intensity and improves the sensitivity of lateral flow immunoassaysThe technology, developed in-house by BBI Solutions scientists, improves the limit of detection of an assay, providing an increase in sensitivity of up to ten times and a faster time to result.
Illuminating blood vessels, opening the blood-brain barrier and delivering drugs. What will be the next big thing that tiny microbubbles can do?
Nanoparticles known as Cornell dots, or C dots, have shown great promise as a therapeutic tool in the detection and treatment of cancer. Now, the ultrasmall particles – developed more than a dozen years ago by Ulrich Wiesner, the Spencer T. Olin Professor of Engineering at Cornell University – have shown they can do something even better: kill cancer cells without attaching a cytotoxic drug.
Osteoarthritis is a debilitating condition that affects at least 27 million people in the United States, and at least 12 percent of osteoarthritis cases stem from earlier injuries. Over-the-counter painkillers, such as anti-inflammatory drugs, help reduce pain but do not stop unrelenting cartilage destruction. Consequently, pain related to the condition only gets worse.
A team of researchers at Yale found that a treatment using bioadhesive nanoparticles loaded with a potent chemotherapy drug proved more effective and less toxic than conventional treatments for gynecological cancer.
Multidrug resistance (MDR) is the mechanism by which many cancers develop resistance to chemotherapy drugs, resulting in minimal cell death and the expansion of drug-resistant tumors. To address the problem of resistance, researchers at the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have developed nanoparticles that…
IBM scientists have developed a new lab-on-a-chip technology that can, for the first time, separate biological particles at the nanoscale and could enable physicians to detect diseases such as cancer before symptoms appear.
The group of Russian and French researchers, with the participation of scientists from the Lomonosov Moscow State University, has succeeded to synthesize nanoparticles of ultrapure silicon, which exhibited the property of efficient photoluminescence, i.e., secondary light emission after photoexcitation. These particles were able to easily penetrate into cancer cells and it allowed to use them as…
An international team working at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has captured the first high-resolution 3-D images from individual double-helix DNA segments attached at either end to gold nanoparticles. The images detail the flexible structure of the DNA segments, which appear as nanoscale jump ropes.
A team of investigators from Houston Methodist Research Institute may have transformed the treatment of metastatic triple negative breast cancer by creating the first drug to successfully eliminate lung metastases in mice.
Australian researchers develop a new technique that tricks bacterial biofilms into dislodging from their protective matrix, making them vulnerable to treatment with antibiotics.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) may be triggered by the death of brain cells that make the insulation around nerve fibers, a surprising new view of the disease reported in a study from Northwestern Medicine and The University of Chicago.
Iron nanoparticles injected before magnetic resonance imaging can make tissues more visible and the same nanoparticles may allow doctors to precisely target tumors with new medicines. However, among the challenges to the practical use of nanoparticles in the human body is what scientists refer to as lack of “hemocompatibility” – nanoparticles tend to be attacked and cleared by the immune…
Northwestern University scientists have developed the first liquid nanoscale laser. And it’s tunable in real time, meaning you can quickly and simply produce different colors, a unique and useful feature. The laser technology could lead to practical applications, such as a new form of a “lab on a chip” for medical diagnostics.
The European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Disease (ESCMID) advocates the need for greater education, guidance and research on the build-up, treatment and prevention of biofilms, which contribute to antimicrobial resistance.
Vaccination remains one of the most efficient strategies against infectious diseases, often being the best protection against infections such as hepatitis B, or influenza. European Hospital reports on expert reviews of vaccines in the pipeline and the potential of nanomedicine given during the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC) annual meeting in…
Philips Minicare delivers rule-in/rule-out readings for heart attacks in 10 minutes. It takes a lot of hard work to make things easy. Biomedical experts at Royal Philips have spent more than 10 years developing a simple test for the emergency department that, in less than 10 minutes, may indicate whether a patient suffering chest pains is having a heart attack.
Scientists have designed nanoparticles that release drugs in the presence of a class of proteins that enable cancers to metastasize. That is, they have engineered a drug delivery system so that the very enzymes that make cancers dangerous could instead guide their destruction.
An organic dye that can light up cancer cells for two powerful imaging techniques providing complementary diagnostic information has been developed and successfully tested in mice by A*STAR researchers.
Painful insulin injections could become a thing of the past for the millions of Americans who suffer from diabetes, thanks to a new invention from researchers at the University of North Carolina and NC State, who have created a “smart insulin patch” that can detect increases in blood sugar levels and secrete doses of insulin into the bloodstream whenever needed.
A single dose of an FDA-approved intravenous nutrition source may be able to significantly reduce the toxicity and increase the bioavailability of platinum-based cancer drugs, according to a study by Carnegie Mellon University biologists published in Scientific Reports.
Scientists in the UK have designed a new self-assembling nanoparticle that targets tumours and could lead to quicker diagnosis of cancer. Researchers at Imperial College London report that a new self-assembling nanoparticle can adhere to cancer cells, thus making them visible in MRI scans and possibly eliminate the need for invasive tissue biopsies. Report: Mark Nicholls
Nanoparticles are extremely small particles that can be modified for a variety of uses in the medical field. For example, nanoparticles can be engineered to be able to transport medicines specifically to the disease site while not interfering with healthy body parts.
What's the ideal solution for vulnerable plaque imaging? 'A non-invasive imaging procedure with high spatial and temporal resolution, and without radiation exposure, and which provides information on coronary plaque composition precisely and in series.' Report: Axel Viola
A tiny nanoscale device can accurately measure a patient’s blood for methotrexate – a commonly used but potentially toxic cancer drug – in under 60 seconds, according to biomedical instrument designer Jean-François Masson, and Joelle Pelletier, a DHFR enzyme specialist, both at the Chemistry Department, University of Montreal.
It looks like a drug, it is injected in patients like a drug, but its acts like a medical device. Welcome to the new world of nanomedicine.
Cancer diagnostics - Nanotechnology is currently being used in oncology to improve early tumour detection, imaging procedures and targeting of cancer therapies. Cancer biomarkers, indicators that are being produced by the body in spreading tumour cells, play an important role in cancer detection, Dr. Jörg Raach reports
Over the last five years the tiniest particles have attracted large attention in relation to the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease. Indeed, as in other medical disciplines, nanotechnology is advancing in cardiology despite as yet insufficient research on the extent of its effect and double blind studies to confirm findings
Modern medical technology is evidently held in high esteem by the general population. In a recent survey conducted by the market research institute Emnid commissioned by the industry association SPECTARIS, about 80% of the patients surveyed said that under certain circumstances they would be willing to pay more for their health insurance in return for consistent treatment with state-of-the-art…
Although developments in molecular imaging still do not reach the high expectations placed upon them, the change in imaging is very obvious. Having been limited to the imaging of morphology, nowadays information on tissue characteristics, blood vessels or the metabolic behaviour of tumours provide many more insights, for example into response behaviour.
SECARS microscopy, a procedure which is based on quantum effects, with which certain molecules can be monitored virtually in real time, turns out to be a highly sensitive tool for the non-invasive research of the most varied diseases and may supplement the medical diagnosis tools of CT and MRI in the future.
Molecular imaging, a new science that emerged from molecular biology, is unlike traditional imaging. Whilst the latter can, for example, show the differences in proton density or water content on MRI, molecular imaging uses biomarkers (probes) that interact selectively with molecules within an area and then generate the image according to fine molecular alterations occurring inside (e.g. within a…
During a gathering of clinicians, scientists and economists at this year's Medical Technology Congress (Treffpunkt für Medizintechnik) held in Berlin's Charité Hospital, all 17 lectures focused on cancer treatments. Bettina Döbereiner reports
Previewing technologies that may be in use in about a decade, Philips Healthcare recently introduced us to researchers who discussed their many current and ongoing projects.
An interdisciplinary team of researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) and the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology has demonstrated a better way to deliver cancer drugs directly to tumors by using specially engineered nanoparticles that can inhibit a signaling pathway and deliver a higher concentration of medication to the specific area.
EH correspondent David Loshak reports
The machine 'qViro' which is the size of a coffee grinder will make virus counting much cheaper than traditional virus counting technology. The revolutionary new invention offers the potential to quickly muster and count the number of viruses in a sample in minutes - it is a portable, desktop instrument, powered from the USB drive of a computer - current competitors are the size of washing…
Early suspicions of cancer, either from clinical evidence or medical imaging, are often followed up on biopsy. However, the removal of tissue for histological analysis can be uncomfortable for patients.
Scientists found out that particles of titanium dioxide, which is e.g. contained in the white lines at tennis courts, can kill bacteria and destroy dirt when activated by fluorescent light. Added in paints, the nanotitanium can kill superbugs on all surfaces in hospitals.
The University of Urbino and Philips Research will jointly research the encapsulation of magnetic nanoparticle contrast agents inside living blood cells to prolong the retention time of these agents in the blood. Injected as free particles, magnetic nanoparticle contrast agents are quickly excreted from the blood via the patient's liver, which limits their application.
With 121 high level lectures and 65 published posters, Analytica 2008 - organised by the German Chemical Society (GDCh), the Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (GBM) and the German United Society of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (DGKL) - was again a notable bio-chemistry event.
A team of Stanford University School of Medicine researchers has developed a new type of imaging system that can illuminate tumors in living subjects-getting pictures with a precision of nearly one-trillionth of a meter.
Andrea Martini and Joerg Larsen, of the Institute for Roentgendiagnostics, Braunschweig Teaching Hospitals, Germany, discuss nanotechnology, hybrid imaging and the quest for a personalised medicine.
Imaging in Internal Medicine is among the main topics for 114th Congress of the German Society of Internal Medicine (March. Wiesbaden). Specialists in internal medicine, radiologists, and nuclear medicine have developed a programme that will not only provide an overview of the values of modern imaging procedures but also tackle controversial subjects.
Merck Serono, a business division of Merck KgaA, will donate CHF 12.5 million for the endowment of three new chairs for neurodegenerative diseases, oncology and drug delivery at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). In addition a fund for scientific research will be established at EPFL.
USA — Miniscule gold 'nanorods' triggered by a laser beam can blast holes in tumour cell membranes, which then activates a complex biochemical mechanism that leads to the tumour cell to self-destruct, according to researchers at the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering in Purdue University, Idaho.
In recent years molecular imaging has developed into a hot topic field in medical research, which raised high expectations.
At the Annual Congress of the European Respiratory Society (ERS), which took place in Stockholm, September 15-19, 2007, researchers from the Imperial College London, UK, presented their study about the successful implantation of lung cells grown from embryonic stem cells into the lungs of mice. In future, this method could be used for the treatment of human lung diseases.
A next-generation diagnostic tool for cardiovascular disease, using a nanoscale iron particle, is now under development at a unique industry-government-university named Nano AG. A report from Siemens describes the research and progress at the centre
21st. Analytica 2008 held in april 2008 in Munich, Germany.
Cancer can be tackled with a combination of drug and genetic therapies, so that the effectiveness of individual treatments are enhanced.
By Stefan G Ruehm MD PhD, Associate Professor of Radiology, at the David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, California
Researchers open up new opportunities for cellular and molecular MR imaging.
By Professor Horst Neuhaus MD, Head of Internal Medicine at the Evangelical Hospital, Dusseldorf, describes highlights during April's 33rd Congress of the German Society of Endoscopy and Imaging Procedures (DGE-BV).