A realistic look at the promises and perils of nanomedicine

Is the emerging field of nanomedicine a breathtaking technological revolution that promises remarkable new ways of diagnosing and treating diseases? Or does it portend the release of dangerous nanoparticles, nanorobots or nanoelectronic devices that will wreak havoc in the body? A new review of more than 500 studies on the topic concludes that neither scenario is likely. It appears in ACS’ journal Molecular Pharmaceutics.

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Innovative vaccines with nanotechnology

European Research Consortium wants to develop novel vaccination against hepatitis C

HCVAX is a European joint project that reaches out to develop a vaccine against hepatitis C based on nanotechnology. The German Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung, HZI) in Braunschweig and its department “Vaccinology and Applied Microbiology” is now a part of the transnational consortium with researchers from Germany, France and Switzerland.

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Hitting target in cancer fight now easier with new nanoparticle platform, UCLA scientists say

The ability to use nanoparticles to deliver payloads of cancer-fighting drugs to tumors in the body could herald a fundamental change in chemotherapy treatment. But scientists are still at a relatively early stage in the implementation of this technology.

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Stanford research moves nanomedicine one step closer to reality

STANFORD, Calif. — A class of engineered nanoparticles — gold-centered spheres smaller than viruses — has been shown safe when administered by two alternative routes in a mouse study led by investigators at the Stanford University School of Medicine. This marks the first step up the ladder of toxicology studies that, within a year and a half, could yield to human trials of the tiny agents for detection of colorectal and possibly other cancers.

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MIT engineers design new nanoparticle that could lead to vaccines for HIV, malaria, other diseases

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.- MIT engineers have designed a new type of nanoparticle that could safely and effectively deliver vaccines for diseases such as HIV and malaria.

The new particles, described in the Feb. 20 issue of Nature Materials, consist of concentric fatty spheres that can carry synthetic versions of proteins normally produced by viruses. These synthetic particles elicit a strong immune response — comparable to that produced by live virus vaccines — but should be much safer, says Darrell Irvine, author of the paper and an associate professor of materials science and engineering and biological engineering.

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New nanoparticles make blood clots visible

For almost two decades, cardiologists have searched for ways to see dangerous blood clots before they cause heart attacks.

Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report that they have designed nanoparticles that find clots and make them visible to a new kind of X-ray technology.

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Early tests find nanoshell therapy effective against brain cancer

Rice bioengineers, Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s physician-scientists zap tumors with light-activated nanoparticles

HOUSTON — (Feb. 1, 2011) — Rice University bioengineers and physician-scientists at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital have successfully destroyed tumors of human brain cancer cells in the first animal tests of a minimally invasive treatment that zaps glioma tumors with heat. The tests involved nanoshells, light-activated nanoparticles that are designed to destroy tumors with heat and avoid the unwanted side effects of drug and radiation therapies.

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Study suggests new treatment option to reduce metastasis in ovarian cancer

Magnetic nanoparticles

A paper published in the January issue of the journal Nanomedicine could provide the foundation for a new ovarian cancer treatment option – one that would use an outside-the-body filtration device to remove a large portion of the free-floating cancer cells that often create secondary tumors.

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Heating nanoparticles to kill tumor cells

Virginia Tech researchers explore promising new cancer treatment

WASHINGTON, D.C., November 23, 2010 — Magnetic fluid hyperthermia (MFH) is a promising new cancer treatment that essentially “fries” cells inside tumors. The procedure has been used successfully in prostate, liver, and breast tumors. Magnetic nanoparticles (each billionths of a meter in size) are injected into the body intravenously and diffuse selectively into cancerous tissues. Add a high-frequency magnetic field, and the particles heat up, raising the temperature of the tumor cells.

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Researchers develop oral delivery system to treat inflammatory bowel diseases

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University have developed a novel approach for delivering small bits of genetic material into the body to improve the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases. Delivering short strands of RNA into cells has become a popular research area because of its potential therapeutic applications, but how to deliver them into targeted cells in a living organism has been an obstacle.

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