Tiny particles behave differently within cells depending upon their shapes, sizes, and surface chemistry, according to nanotechnology researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Published in the online edition of the journal PNAS, their findings may be helpful in developing effective nanomedicines for cancer.
Tumor Cells can Be Killed With Nanoparticles and Light Combo
University of Virginia medical physicists have come up with a new idea to kill tumour cells with the help of nanoparticles and light.
University of Virginia medical physicists have come up with a new idea to kill tumour cells with the help of nanoparticles and light.
He said that their purpose was to optimise particle attributes for specific therapeutic objectives.
"This would mean that we could deliver lower dosages of drugs to specific cells and tissues in the body and actually be more effective in treating the cancer," he said.
Study Says Nanoparticles may Help Fight Disease
American scientists have developed ultra-miniature bialy-shaped particles called nanobialys that may soon be carrying medicinal compounds through patients' bloodstreams to tumours
American scientists have developed ultra-miniature bialy-shaped particles called nanobialys that may soon be carrying medicinal compounds through patients' bloodstreams to tumours
Dr. DeSimone says that the different particles were later incubated with human cervical carcinoma epithelial (HeLa) cells, and the group monitored each type to see which ones the cells absorbed most effectively.
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Better Drug Delivery Method to Fight Cancer Developed
Nanoparticles are equipped with homing devices, in the form of antibodies that are attracted only to antigens on the surface of cancer cells.
Nanoparticles are equipped with homing devices, in the form of antibodies that are attracted only to antigens on the surface of cancer cells.
Such particles also travelled significantly further into the cell, he added.
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Cancer-Detecting Nanoparticles Developed
A chemist at Brown University claims to have developed the smallest iron oxide nanoparticles to date for the detection of cancer using magnetic resonance imaging.
A chemist at Brown University claims to have developed the smallest iron oxide nanoparticles to date for the detection of cancer using magnetic resonance imaging.
"If we can design particles that rely on the same mechanisms that nature has perfected for bacteria, we may unlock the key for delivering therapeutics more efficiently and effectively to treat and cure disease," she said.
Liquidia Technologies, a UNC spin-off company, is developing engineered nanoparticles for delivery of nucleic acids and small molecule therapeutics.
The company's chief executive officer, Neal Fowler, said that the new findings could prove of interest to the biopharmaceutical industry.
"We are delighted to contribute to the important work that Professor DeSimone and his students are undertaking in the field of nanomedicine. This work answers key questions about the role of particle shape and size that industry leaders have been asking for some time," Fowler said.
Source-ANI
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