MIT bioengineers have developed a new microfluidic platform technology that could be used to evaluate new drugs and detect possible side effects before the drugs are tested in humans. The microfluidic platform can connect 3D tissues from up to 10 organs. Replacing animal testing, it can accurately replicate human-organ interactions for weeks at a time [...]
Researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering have developed new wound dressings that dramatically accelerate healing and improve tissue regeneration. The two different types of nanofiber dressings, described in separate papers, use naturally-occurring proteins in plants and animals to promote [...]
In a step toward accelerating the production of new gene therapies, scientists report in ACS Nano ("Precision-Guided Nanospears for Targeted and High-Throughput Intracellular Gene Delivery") that they have developed remote-controlled, needle-like nanospears capable of piercing membrane walls and delivering DNA into selected cells. They say the new technique, which can ferry biological materials to cells [...]
Artificial ion channels developed by A*STAR researchers could pave the way for new kinds of antibacterial agents and biomedical sensors (J. Am. Chem. Soc., "Combinatorial evolution of fast-conducting highly selective K+-channels via modularly tunable directional assembly of crown ethers"). Ion channels are biochemical superhighways that enable ions of metals such as potassium and sodium to [...]
With the goal of minimizing the side effects of chemotherapy on healthy tissues, a team of researchers at the Center for Self-assembly and Complexity, within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) have developed novel nanocontainers able to deliver anticancer drugs at precise timing and location. Published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition ("Mono-allyloxylated Cucurbit[7]uril Acts as [...]
Biophysicists from MIPT have studied the structure of a nanofibrous scaffold, as well as its interaction with rat cardiac cells. The study, which is part of the research into heart tissue regeneration, revealed that cardiomyocytes — heart muscle cells — envelop nanofibers as they grow, while fibroblasts — connective tissue cells — tend to spread out on fibers forming several focal adhesion [...]
From an article by Abigail Beall and Matt Reynolds at Wired UK: Google, IBM and a handful of startups are racing to create the next generation of supercomputers. Quantum computers, if they ever get started, will help us solve problems, like modelling complex chemical processes, that our existing computers can't even scratch the surface of. [...]
Klas Tybrandt, principal investigator at the Laboratory of Organic Electronics at Linköping University, has developed new technology for long-term stable neural recording. It is based on a novel elastic material composite, which is biocompatible and retains high electrical conductivity even when stretched to double its original length. The result has been achieved in collaboration with [...]
The first direct comparison of in vitro and in vivo screening techniques for identifying nanoparticles that may be used to transport therapeutic molecules into cells shows that testing in lab dishes isn't much help in predicting which nanoparticles will successfully enter the cells of living animals. The new study demonstrated the advantages of an in [...]
Small things add up: trillions of dollars of products applying nanotechnology have been marketed to consumers promising new medicines, strong packaging to protect goods from contamination, stronger eyelash mascara and long-lasting lipstick, construction materials for housing, cheaper energy, and new drugsto fight cancer. Nanotechnology applications to consumer products represent a huge slice of daily economic [...]
