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Scanning Tunneling Microscope Helps to Image Molecule’s Inner Structure

For their look into the nanoworld, the Jülich researchers used a scanning tunneling microscope. Its thin metal tip scans the specimen surface like the needle of a record player and registers the atomic irregularies and differences of approximately one nanometre (a billionth of a millimetre) with minuscule electric currents.

21 Aug 2010

Multifunctional Nanoparticles as Coupled Contrast Agents

Spotting a single cancerous cell that has broken free from a tumor and is traveling through the bloodstream to colonize a new organ might seem like finding a needle in a haystack. But a new imaging technique from the Uni...

18 Aug 2010

Molecular-Imprint Nanosensor for Ultrasensitive Detection of Proteins

A cluster of carbon nanotubes coated with a thin layer of protein-recognizing polymer form a biosensor capable of using electrochemical signals to detect minute amounts of proteins. With further development, this biosensor could provide a crucial new diagnostic tool for the detection of cancer and other illnesses, according to a team of investigators led by Dong Cai of Boston College.

18 Aug 2010

Cisplatin Nanoparticle for Enhanced Antitumor Efficacy

One of the first chemotherapy drugs given to patients diagnosed with cancer — especially lung, ovarian, or breast cancer — is cisplatin, a platinum-containing compound that binds to tumor cells' DNA. Cisp...

18 Aug 2010

Biocompatibility, Biodistribution, and Drug-Delivery Efficiency of Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles for Cancer Therapy in Animals

In cancer research, nanotechnology holds great promise for the development of targeted, localized delivery of anticancer drugs, in which only cancer cells are affected. By carrying out comprehensive studies on mice with ...

18 Aug 2010

Cancer Detection from Exhaled Breath Using Nanosensors

With a single breath, a Breathalyzer™ can tell a police officer when a driver has had too much to drink. Now, thanks to a team of investigators at the Israel Institute of Technology, a single breath may be enough t...

18 Aug 2010

Complex Role of Multivalency in Nanoparticles Targeting the Transferrin Receptor for Cancer Therapies

A normally benign protein found in the human body appears to be able – when paired with nanoparticles – to zero in on and kill certain cancer cells, without having to also load those particles with chemothera...

18 Aug 2010

Microfluidic Platform for Molecular Dissection of Single Brain Tumor Cells

New technologies for the diagnosis of cancer are rapidly changing the clinical practice of oncology. As scientists learn more about the molecular basis of cancer, the development of new tools capable of multiple, inexpen...

18 Aug 2010

New Inexpensive DNA Sequencing Method Integrates Biology and Nanotechnology

In experiments with potentially broad health care implications, a research team led by a University of Washington physicist has devised a method that works at a very small scale to sequence DNA quickly and relatively ine...

17 Aug 2010

Peptide-Carrying Nanoparticles Cure Degenerative Eye Disorders

In one of only two studies of its kind, a study from researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine and the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts demonstrates that non-viral gene therapy can delay the onset of some forms of eye disease and preserve vision. The team developed nanoparticles to deliver therapeutic genes to the retina and found that treated mice temporarily retained more eyesight than controls. The study, published online in advance of print in Molecular Therapy, brings researchers closer to a non-viral gene therapy treatment for degenerative eye disorders.

17 Aug 2010