NaturalNano, Inc. (Pink Sheets:NNAN)
(Frankfurt:N3N), a materials science company focused on developing and commercializing
advanced nanocomposites, announced that Andrew Hughes is presenting today research
from Cornell University's Department of Biomedical Engineering that reports
significant improvement in the ability of medical devices in development to
target the separation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from blood are significantly
improved by the use of NaturalNano's Halloysite Nanotubes (HNT) as part of the
surface. The devices are designed to remove CTCs from the blood of cancer patients
as part of a more personalized approach to cancer treatment.
The study is being reported today at the Annual Meeting of The American Institute
of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, UT. AIChE is
the world's leading organization for chemical engineering professionals, with
over 40,000 members from over 90 countries.
The novel blood separation device work is being conducted in the laboratory
of Dr. Michael R. King, a faculty member at the Department of Biomedical Engineering
at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. The study demonstrates that incorporation
of the NaturalNano's HNT into the devices surface can improve targeting of CTC's.
and enhance the natural rolling mechanism that Dr. King believes will allow
them to be exposed to specific anti-cancer drugs or other therapeutic agents,
or isolated for diagnostic and research purposes. This cell separation device
now in development by Dr. King has significant potential for a range of novel
approaches to the treatment of cancer and other blood born diseases. http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/la101179y
Dr. Michael King, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell
University, said, "The ability to create stable coatings of Halloysite
using an extremely thin layer of poly-L-lysine gives us a breakthrough, which
will impact the diagnostic detection of circulating tumor cells in blood, and
isolation for further use. An interesting result from their paper is that the
Halloysite had no harmful effect on the cells enabling the delivery of live
cells ready for treatment or analysis."
James Wemett, NaturalNano CEO, said "I am very excited to have this opportunity
to have our Company's proprietary nanotubes incorporated into this promising
device technology and featured in the presentation at AIChE's Annual Meeting."
NaturalNano, Inc. (Pink Sheets:NNAN) (Frankfurt:N3N) is a materials science
company focused on developing and commercializing advanced nanocomposites. The
Company is focused on additive technologies and processes, including their proprietary
Pleximer that adds value to industrial polymers, plastics and composites. NaturalNano
holds and licenses 24 patents and applications, as well as proprietary know-how
for extraction and separation processes, compositions, and derivatives of Halloysite.