| The blood-brain barrier is a physiological boundary layer that works highly selectively and thus protects the brain: On the one hand, pathogens or toxins are effectively prevented from penetrating the brain, on the other hand, however, necessary messengers and nutrients can pass through them unhindered. This selectivity makes it difficult for physicians to examine or treat the brain because drugs or contrast agents for imaging procedures cannot overcome the barrier. | |
| Scientists led by Dr. Jana Hedrich, Prof. Dr. Heiko Luhmann and Prof. Dr. Tanja Weil, in cooperation with the University of Ulm and the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz have now investigated the suitability of a system based on nanodiamonds as diagnostic and therapeutic method. |
| Nano-diamonds with a size in the range of a millionth of a meter have the advantage of high biocompatibility: they are not degradable for the body, should be well tolerated and are therefore potentially suitable for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. | |
| For their research, the scientists have modified the diamonds in two ways: A coating with a biopolymer based on the most abundant protein in human blood, “serum albumin”, enables the diamonds to be absorbed into the brain and later to be combined with drugs. | |
| “Diamonds are chemically non-reactive, which means that it is difficult to bind drug molecules,” says Jana Hedrich and Tanja Weil. “The albumin coating enables us to create a stable coating and bind almost any medication to it.” | |
| As a further modification, a defect was specifically introduced into the diamond by replacing an atom in the diamond, which consisting of carbon, with a nitrogen atom. Furthermore, there is an empty space in the crystal directly next to this nitrogen atom. | |
| “A diamond is normally very clear and, ideally, flawless – light can therefore easily pass through it,” explains Hedrich…. |
Image Credit: University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University in Main
News This Week
Fighting drug-resistant superbugs with bacteria-shredding nanoparticles
Researchers have used liquid metals to develop new bacteria-destroying technology that could be the answer to the deadly problem of antibiotic resistance. The technology uses nano-sized particles of magnetic liquid metal to shred bacteria [...]
Team Builds the First Living Robots
A book is made of wood. But it is not a tree. The dead cells have been repurposed to serve another need. Now a team of scientists has repurposed living cells—scraped from [...]
A new method to study lithium dendrites could lead to better, safer batteries
Lithium ion batteries often grow needle-like structures between electrodes that can short out the batteries and sometimes cause fires. Now, an international team of researchers has found a way to grow and observe these [...]
New kind of bandage helps stop bleeding without adhering to the wound
Researchers from ETH Zurich and the National University of Singapore have developed a new kind of bandage that helps blood to clot and doesn’t stick to the wound (Nature Communications, "Superhydrophobic hemostatic nanofiber [...]
Illuminating the world of nanoparticles
Scientists at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) have developed a light-based device that can act as a biosensor, detecting biological substances in materials; for example, harmful pathogens in food [...]
Soundwaves carry information between quantum systems
Some quantum computers and networks store their information in an electron’s spin, which can be up or down – like the zeros or ones in a conventional computer. They can also be a combination [...]
New Particle Accelerator Fits on a Silicon Chip
The device uses lasers to accelerate electrons along an etched channel. In a full-scale particle accelerator, electrons fly along a kilometers-long path as microwaves bombard them, boosting the particles to near light speed. Such a [...]
Scientists create tiny lasers from nanoparticles and plastic beads
Researchers found a way to create lasers smaller than red blood cells. These microlasers convert infrared light into light at higher frequencies. Made from nanoparticles, these are among the smallest, continuously emitting lasers of [...]
A.I WARNING: The terrifying future of advanced A.I warfare exposed by expert
AS artificial intelligence technology continues to develop, like any new tech, questions begin to arise on its capabilities in warfare. Technology could ultimately be catastrophic for mankind. During an interview with Express.co.uk, he argued [...]
New nano-barrier for composites could strengthen spacecraft payloads
The University of Surrey has developed a robust multi-layer nano-barrier for ultra-lightweight and stable carbon fibre reinforced polymers (CFRPs) that could be used to build high precision instrument structures for future space missions. CFRP [...]
Jumbo Phage Deploys Cloaking Device against CRISPR Defenses
Scientists at the University of Otago in New Zealand say they have discovered how viruses that specifically kill bacteria can outwit bacteria by hiding from their defenses. These findings are important for the development [...]
Self-driving microrobots
Most synthetic materials, including those in battery electrodes, polymer membranes, and catalysts, degrade over time because they don't have internal repair mechanisms. If you could distribute autonomous microrobots within these materials, then you could [...]
New laser technique images quantum world in a trillionth of a second
For the first time, researchers have been able to record, frame-by-frame, how an electron interacts with certain atomic vibrations in a solid. The technique captures a process that commonly causes electrical resistance in materials [...]
Paradoxical replacement tissue for medicine
A material that thickens when you pull on it seems to contradict the laws of physics. However, the so-called auxetic effect, which also occurs in nature, is interesting for a number of applications. [...]
What if aging weren’t inevitable, but a curable disease?
Each Cyclops had a single eye because, legend has it, the mythical giants traded the other one with the god Hades in return for the ability to see into the future. But Hades tricked [...]
Chemistry in the turbulent interstellar medium
Over 200 molecules have been discovered in space, some (like Buckminsterfullerene) very complex with carbon atoms. Besides being intrinsically interesting, these molecules radiate away heat, helping giant clouds of interstellar material cool and contract [...]
