Archive for nanotechnology
Gold particles and light could melt venous malformations away
Venous malformations — tissues made up largely of abnormally shaped veins — are often difficult to treat, especially when located in sensitive areas like the eyes, face, and genitourinary organs. In the worst cases, the lesions are disfiguring and can crush or obstruct surrounding tissues, cause bleeding and clotting, interfere with breathing or vision, or ... Read More about Gold particles and light could melt venous malformations away
A bio-inspired approach to delivering local anesthetics
Site 1 sodium channel blockers such as tetrodotoxin and saxitoxin are small-molecule drugs with powerful local anesthetic properties. They provide pain relief without toxic effects on local nerves and muscles, and are an attractive alternative to opioids. But injected by themselves, the anesthetics can easily float away, causing severe systemic toxicity. Encapsulating these drugs in ... Read More about A bio-inspired approach to delivering local anesthetics
Novel CRISPR system could halt growth of triple-negative breast cancer
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), lacking estrogen, progesterone and HER2 receptors, has the highest mortality rate of all breast cancers. It more frequently strikes women under age 50, African American women, and women carrying a BRCA1 gene mutation. The highly aggressive, frequently metastatic cancer is in urgent need of more effective targeted therapeutics. A new tumor-targeted ... Read More about Novel CRISPR system could halt growth of triple-negative breast cancer
Dually-targeted liposomes curb triple-negative breast cancer, metastases in mice
Some 15 to 20 percent of all breast cancers are triple-negative, meaning they lack receptors for estrogen, progesterone and human epidermal growth factor type 2. They have the worst prognosis of all breast cancers and very limited treatment options. Finding a treatment that distinguishes between cancer cells and normal cells has been especially challenging. A ... Read More about Dually-targeted liposomes curb triple-negative breast cancer, metastases in mice
The softer the nanoparticle, the better the drug delivery to tumors
For the first time, scientists have shown that the elasticity of nanoparticles can affect how cells take them up in ways that can significantly improve drug delivery to tumors. A team of Boston Children’s Hospital researchers led by Marsha A. Moses, PhD, who directs the Vascular Biology Program, created a novel nanolipogel-based drug delivery system that allowed ... Read More about The softer the nanoparticle, the better the drug delivery to tumors
To monitor health, simply trip the ‘nanoswitches’
https://vimeo.com/232848172Video can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: DNA Nanoswitch Detection (https://vimeo.com/232848172) WATCH: DNA nanoswitches change shape in the presence of biomarkers. The shape change is revealed in a process called gel electrophoresis. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University “Nanoswitches” — engineered, shape-changing strands of DNA — could shake up the way we monitor our ... Read More about To monitor health, simply trip the ‘nanoswitches’
Precision drug delivery systems could ‘trigger’ an age of nanomedicine
What if we could deliver biocompatible nanoparticles into the body and then activate them to release drugs exactly where they are needed, without causing side effects elsewhere? Scientists like Daniel Kohane, MD, PhD, of Boston Children’s Hospital, are developing nanoscale drug delivery systems to do just that, using a variety of materials and triggers that ... Read More about Precision drug delivery systems could ‘trigger’ an age of nanomedicine
DIY pain relief with light-activated local nerve blocks
You’ve just had a root canal or knee surgery — both situations that will likely require some sort of local pain medication. But instead of taking a systemic narcotic with all its side effects, what if you could medicate only the part of your body that hurts, only when needed and only as much as ... Read More about DIY pain relief with light-activated local nerve blocks