| Scientists at RMIT University say their new research advances the potential of nanomedicine to cure conditions that are currently incurable, such as dementia and motor neurone disease. | |
| Their work explores how nanoparticles would interact with cells in humans and provides fundamental knowledge to help improve nanomedicine and develop the next generation of personalised biomedical technologies. | |
| Nanoparticles open the door to technologies that could improve treatments and disease diagnosis for patients, according to the scientists. | |
| One of the lead researchers, Dr Aaron Elbourne, said nanoparticle technologies could ultimately improve drug delivery, cancer treatments, disease diagnostics and antimicrobials. | |
| “Nanoparticles have been investigated as advanced nanomedicines, but they often miss the mark or fail to deliver their treatment to a specific location within the body,” said Elbourne, from the School of Science. | |
| “The main challenge is to control how nanoparticles engage with cells to accurately deliver the medicine. This has been poorly understood until now, but our latest work offers a clearer picture of what is happening at that nano level.” |
Helping to design better nanomedicines and diagnostic nanoparticles |
|
| Most nanoparticle technologies need to pass through a cell’s outer membrane to fulfill their function, Elbourne said. | |
| “This membrane serves as an important protective barrier that isolates the internal cell environment from the surroundings, but it also poses a challenge for the delivery of nanoparticles.” | |
| Elbourne said if scientists could overcome this challenge, it would potentially open a new era of medicine. | |
| The latest study, led by RMIT in collaboration with the University of Durham and published in the ACS Nano journal (“Behavior of Citrate-Capped Ultrasmall Gold Nanoparticles on a Supported Lipid Bilayer Interface at Atomic Resolution”), tackles this problem by providing scientists a pathway to design more effective nanomedicines and diagnostic nanoparticles. | |
How they conducted the research |
|
| Using atomic force microscopy along with computer simulations of molecular activity, the team discovered the precise mechanisms by which gold nanoparticles – a tiny fraction of the width of a human hair – interact with artificial cell membranes. | |
| Fellow RMIT lead researcher, Dr Andrew Christofferson, said their work was unique. | |
| “What makes this work unique is that we combine experiments and modelling to show a level of detail not seen before, and this will serve as a platform for future studies of nanoparticles and biological materials.” |
The potential to treat currently untreatable brain diseases |
|
| The team says one of the main barriers to finding a cure for diseases such as dementia and motor neurone disease is the current inability to deliver treatments that can cross the blood-brain barrier, a membrane that blocks foreign entities reaching the brain. | |
| First author and PhD researcher, Rashad Kariuki, was excited to work with nanoparticles that would be small enough to pass through this membrane. | |
| “We currently have limited treatments that can pass through the blood-brain barrier because many are just too big or don’t interact favourably with this particular membrane,” he said. | |
| “If we could use nanoparticles to treat brain diseases non-invasively, that would be a gamechanger.” | |
| More work needs to be done before nanoparticles reach their full potential to help treat diseases but new wound treatments using this technology are in development, Elbourne said. | |
| “We have collaborators at the University of South Australia that we’re working with on treatments for chronic and acute wounds,” Elbourne said. | |
| “Ultimately, our work could positively impact a wide range of treatments, meaning better outcomes for patients and health systems.” |
News
Using Cannabis Could Raise Your Stroke Risk by 37%, Massive Study Reveals
Large-scale evidence suggests cannabis, cocaine, and amphetamines may directly raise stroke risk, including in younger adults. As recreational drug use becomes increasingly common, researchers are uncovering evidence that its health consequences may extend far beyond [...]
Could Vitamin C Be the Secret to Keeping Your Brain Younger?
Lower vitamin C levels were linked to reduced brain volume and weaker neural connectivity in older adults, suggesting a potential connection between nutrition and brain health. Could a common vitamin help preserve the brain [...]
This Deadly Disease Was Wiping Out Humans 5,500 Years Ago
A new study suggests plague was already a deadly threat 5,500 years ago, striking small hunter-gatherer communities long before cities and agriculture emerged. For centuries, plague has been remembered as the disease that devastated [...]
China closing in but US leads in biotech quality, commercial reach, survey finds
SAN DIEGO, June 22 (Reuters) - China, which now conducts more clinical drug trials, opens new tab than the U.S., still lags in the quality and commercial reach of its biomedical science, according to a recent survey, opens new [...]
New method generates renewable supply of progenitor immune cells
In a paper published in Cell, a USC Stem Cell-led team reports a new way of generating a renewable and expandable supply of the progenitor cells that give rise to macrophages. These immune cells help [...]
Scientists Just Discovered a Cellular Survival System That Was Never Supposed To Exist
A surprising backup pathway allows cells to make a crucial amino acid when their primary machinery fails. For decades, biologists believed cells had only one way to access a molecule they cannot live without. New [...]
Artificial cells gain porous membranes, enabling lab reactions and drug release
Artificial cells created in the laboratory offer a wide range of potential applications. Until now, however, their membranes—unlike those of real cells—have been virtually impermeable. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, [...]
Popular Weight-Loss Drugs Like Ozempic Linked to Lower Breast Cancer Risk
Ozempic and similar weight-loss drugs were linked to a striking 30% reduction in breast cancer risk in a study of more than 110,000 women. Popular weight-loss and diabetes medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, [...]
Stanford Scientists Discover Explosive New Type of Immune Cell
Scientists studying the remarkable regenerative abilities of planarian flatworms have uncovered a previously unknown type of immune cell with an unusually destructive defense strategy. What if an immune cell could wipe out nearby threats [...]
Big Pharma-backed SonoThera sounds off with $125M series B for bubble-based genetic delivery
Bay Area biotech SonoThera is bubbling to a clinical boil after raising a $125 million series B with the backing of some of the biggest names in pharma. Vida Ventures led the raise, with the venture [...]
Joint initiative of 5 EU countries calls for ‘unified approach’ to pharma framework amid US drug pricing pressure
With drug pricing pressure building from the U.S., a healthcare-focused consortium of five European countries is calling for a “unified approach” to strengthen Europe’s pharmaceutical framework and access to innovative medicines. Belgium, the Netherlands, [...]
Our books now available worldwide!
Online Sellers other than Amazon, Routledge, and IOPP Indigo Global Health Care Equivalency in the Age of Nanotechnology, Nanomedicine and Artifcial Intelligence Global Health Care Equivalency In The Age Of Nanotechnology, Nanomedicine And Artificial [...]
Molecular Manufacturing: The Future of Nanomedicine – New book from NanoappsMedical Inc.
This book explores the revolutionary potential of atomically precise manufacturing technologies to transform global healthcare, as well as practically every other sector across society. This forward-thinking volume examines how envisaged Factory@Home systems might enable the cost-effective [...]
NanoMedical Brain/Cloud Interface – Explorations and Implications. A new book from Frank Boehm
New book from Frank Boehm, NanoappsMedical Inc Founder: This book explores the future hypothetical possibility that the cerebral cortex of the human brain might be seamlessly, safely, and securely connected with the Cloud via [...]
New book from Nanoappsmedical Inc. – Global Health Care Equivalency
A new book by Frank Boehm, NanoappsMedical Inc. Founder. This groundbreaking volume explores the vision of a Global Health Care Equivalency (GHCE) system powered by artificial intelligence and quantum computing technologies, operating on secure [...]
UCLA Scientists Uncover a “Hidden Weakness” in Some of the World’s Deadliest Cancers
A new study has uncovered an unexpected vulnerability in some of the deadliest cancers. Researchers at UCLA have identified a previously hidden weakness in some of the most aggressive cancers, pointing to a possible new way [...]
