| Researchers from ITMO’s SCAMT Institute have developed a new nanomedicine testing system based on plant leaves. This new solution will make it possible to significantly cut down on animal testing. | |
| The system was described in Nano Letters (“Bioinspired In Vitro Brain Vasculature Model for Nanomedicine Testing Based on Decellularized Spinach Leaves”). | |
| One of the most challenging tasks for medical science nowadays is the development of an efficient model for testing of nanopharmaceutical treatments. This model has to represent the body part or system targeted by the treatment, such as the cardiovascular system, while also making it possible to monitor the treatment in action. | |
| Existing models based on cell or tissue cultures cannot mimic the true complexity of a living organism. Some researchers also rely on microfluidic chips that can imitate the cardiovascular system with the channels that can be etched into them. | |
| However, these chips are far from actual biological objects in terms of their composition and physical parameters. Moreover, they require a long and costly preparation and carry a risk of delivering imprecise research results. | |
| “Despite the potential of nanopharmaceutics, as well as a great number of publications and preclinical trials, there still aren’t enough cases of these treatments seeing any practical application. These days, there is an extremely high demand for testing models that could imitate trials on live organisms. Any attempt at moving to a new model brings us closer to a breakthrough and helps spare the lives of a great number of lab animals,” explains Vladimir Vinogradov, a co-author of the article and professor at ITMO’s ChemBio cluster. | |
| Taking into account the drawbacks of traditional models, scientists at ITMO’s SCAMT Institute developed a model based on a spinach leaf. At its core is the leaf’s vasculature with all cell components removed apart from the cell walls. | |
| The model consists of cellulose, a substance that makes plant tissue more mechanically durable and stable in shape compared to that of animals. The resulting model is comparable to the arterioles and capillaries of the human brain in terms of their branching and diameter. This feature will make it possible to use the model to test both traditional and nanopharmaceutical treatments. | |
| The new model has already been used to simulate thrombosis: first, the researchers inserted a model thrombus into the vasculature. Then, loaded nanoparticles were magnetically guided into the blocked area in order to dissolve the thrombus. | |
| After successful tests of the model’s efficiency, the researchers are going to plant actual human cells into the cellulose scaffold to make the system an even more realistic imitation of the human vasculature. | |
| “We want to attract the attention of the scientific community to the problem of irrational usage of laboratory animals. Currently, you only have to test a new substance on cell cultures before proceeding with animal trials. I think this is wrong – we need another stage in between these two which would identify flaws and provide room for improvement in drugs, thus saving the lives of many animals. Maybe plant-based models will serve as this middle stage,” says Aleksandra Predeina, a co-author of the article and a researcher at ITMO’s Faculty of Biotechnologies. |
News
GHCE Concept
From the preface of the book Global Health Care Equivalency in the Age of Nanotechnology, Nanomedicine and Artificial Intelligence, Edited by Frank Boehm: Since the publication of my first book (Nanomedical Device and Systems [...]
Human Bodies Are Producing Two Billion Tons of CO2 a Year
A new study reveals that the amount of carbon dioxide produced by human metabolism has increased dramatically over three decades. The carbon dioxide produced by human bodies as they convert food into energy increased [...]
A Hidden DNA Mechanism Could Explain How 20% of Human Cancers Develop
Researchers have identified an unexpected molecular vulnerability in cancers carrying BAF mutations. Mutations found in roughly 20% of human cancers may promote tumor growth by changing how DNA is organized inside cells. Researchers have [...]
Ebola kills over 5,300 in fastest-growing outbreak on record
Africa’s latest Ebola outbreak has killed nearly 5,400 people, the vast majority of them in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to the continent’s top health agency. Africa Centres for Disease Control and [...]
China makes early progress in using sound waves to stimulate damaged brains
Chinese researchers are testing whether focused ultrasound can help restore consciousness in patients with severe brain injuries, adding to a growing international effort to use sound waves to stimulate deep brain structures without surgery. [...]
Micro-drones fly through the body thanks to ultrasound
At the EPFL, micro-drones have been developed that can be moved without a motor or battery.No motors, no batteries, no electronics on board, just small cavities that convert sound waves into thrust: this is [...]
A Single Enzyme Could Hold the Key to Treating a Devastating Brain Disorder
Blocking an enzyme’s production restored brain growth and healthy behaviors in mice engineered to develop Angelman syndrome, pointing to a possible treatment target. Children with Angelman syndrome begin to show difficulties with thinking and [...]
Scientists Develop a Clever New Way To Kill Cancer Cells From the Inside
Scientists have developed an experimental strategy that exploits a chemical byproduct of cancer cells to produce anticancer drugs directly inside them. Scientists in Japan have developed an experimental method that uses a chemical produced [...]
Our books are 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 [...]
After only a short training, people in a coma managed to send targeted signals
Researchers have succeeded in communicating with brain-injured patients who are unconscious. They see enormous potential in this for future treatments. Patients who lie motionless in bed after a severe brain injury and do not [...]
MIT Scientists Reprogram Immune Cells Inside the Body To Destroy Cancer
Natural killer cells reprogrammed inside mice eliminated lymphoma tumors and helped damaged livers heal, though whether this approach could help people with cancer or autoimmune disease remains unknown. To make a cancer treatment from [...]
Melanoma mRNA Vaccine Shows Promise in Preventing Disease Recurrence
Key takeaways: Phase 3 trial finds personalized intismeran plus pembrolizumab may better prevent high-risk melanoma recurrence after surgery The trial enrolled 1,137 patients and builds on phase 2 results showing about half the recurrence [...]
Scientists Discover a Powerful New Weapon Against a Dangerous Gut Infection
The promise of an experimental treatment for C. difficile gut infections lies partly in the bacteria it leaves alive, according to early laboratory and mouse research. Broad-spectrum antibiotics can disrupt the gut’s microbial community, [...]
Your Bones May Hold a Hidden Clue to Blood Cancer Survival
For people with blood cancers called myelodysplastic syndromes, osteoporosis may hold an overlooked clue to survival, a three-year observational study suggests. In blood cancers that develop in the bone marrow, an important clue to [...]
Researchers Discover What Reading for Pleasure May Be Doing to Your Brain
Reading for pleasure may offer surprising benefits for the brain, with research linking the habit to better mental health, stronger cognitive abilities, and a lower risk of dementia. Reading for pleasure may do far [...]
Scientists Discover a Hidden Trigger That Keeps Inflammation Alive
Inflammation persists after proteins detach from immune receptors, revealing a potential target for autoimmune treatments. Since a Nobel Prize-winning discovery in the 1990s identified molecules called Toll-like Receptors as the guardians of the human [...]
