Nanowerk Nanotechnology News

The EC-funded NanoSustain project has been developing new sustainable solutions through an investigation of the life-cycle of nanotechnology-based products, in particular the physical and chemical characteristics of materials, hazard and exposure aspects, and end-of-life disposal or recycling to determine the fate and impact of nanomaterials.

Drug developers have been using nanoparticles to encapsulate a wide range of molecules for delivery to tumors. Now, they can add a large protein complex to that list thanks to research from the laboratory of Yi Tang of the University of California at Los Angeles.

The body's immune system exists to identify and destroy foreign objects, whether they are bacteria, viruses, flecks of dirt, or splinters. Unfortunately, nanoparticles designed to deliver drugs, and implanted devices, like pacemakers or artificial joints, are just as foreign and subject to the same response. Now, however, a team of researchers has identified a 'passport' for such therapeutic devices, enabling them to get past the body's security system.

Researchers at the University of Missouri have demonstrated the ability to create a multi-layered harness nanoparticle that can safely encapsulate powerful alpha-emitting radioisotopes and target tumors. The resulting nanoparticles not only offer the possibility of delivering tumor-killing alpha emitters to tumors, but also sparing healthy tissue from radiation damage.

In the quest to develop anti-cancer vaccines that would stimulate the body to destroy tumors and keep them from recurring, researchers continually run into the same problem - the immune-stimulating proteins, known as antigens, are not interacting effectively with the key immune system cells that trigger long-lasting immune responses. Now, using a novel administration system and polymer nanoparticles, a team of investigators led by Adrien Kissenpfennig of Queen's University Belfast has shown […]