https://phys.org/nanotech-news/bio-medicine en-us The latest science news on nanobiology, nano medicine, nanotechnology, nanoscience, and nanotech. In a study published in the journal MedComm, researchers have developed an efficient protein delivery carrier based on spider silk proteins (spidroins), derived from Araneus ventricosus minor ampullate silk protein (MiSp). The MiSp-based nanoparticles are able to serve as an effective delivery system with high loading efficiency and a sustained release profile at physiological pH. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-efficient-protein-delivery-spider-minor.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 20 Jun 2024 15:58:03 EDT news638117881 A laboratory-grown mini liver model uniquely created with liver cells and a synthetic nanoscaffold has shown to be effective in mimicking the liver, promising a new and more effective testing method for medicines that is more ethical than animal testing. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-mini-liver-effective-drug.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 20 Jun 2024 10:47:44 EDT news638099257 A research team led by Prof. Wu Zhengyan and Zhang Jia from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a new environmentally friendly way to deliver pesticides using porous microspheres made of halloysite nanotubes (HNTs). https://phys.org/news/2024-06-fabricate-eco-friendly-pesticide-delivery.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Wed, 19 Jun 2024 10:44:32 EDT news638012670 Conventional drug delivery is often like cracking a nut with a sledgehammer. Whether the drug is swallowed, injected, inhaled, or absorbed through the skin, it ultimately diffuses to most parts of the body, including those where it isn't needed—or where it might even cause harm. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-ultrasound-triggers-nanodroplets-drugs.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 19 Jun 2024 00:10:02 EDT news637940154 A team of medical researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and ReCode Therapeutics has developed a way to send gene-editing tools to the lungs to repair the faulty gene associated with cystic fibrosis. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-lung-lipid-nanoparticles-crispr-components.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 18 Jun 2024 09:40:01 EDT news637921664 An international research team used a common amino acid, tyrosine, packaged as a nanomedicine, to change the metabolism of melanoma, a deadly skin cancer, and prevent cancer growth. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-scientists-tyrosine-nanomedicine-halt-melanoma.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 18 Jun 2024 09:09:03 EDT news637920541 Food allergies pose significant health risks, affecting millions worldwide, with the prevalence rising over the past decades. Traditional detection methods, such as monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies, are often costly, labor-intensive, and prone to cross-reactions. The need for accurate, efficient, and cost-effective allergen detection methods is more pressing than ever. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-camelid-nanobodies-food-allergen-surveillance.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 17 Jun 2024 16:42:03 EDT news637861322 Phototherapy is a safe and effective method for tumor treatment, including photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT). PTT refers to the use of laser to activate photothermal conversion agents and use high temperature to kill tumor cells, while PDT stimulates photosensitizers to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) to kill tumor cells. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-ability-phototherapy-immune-response-cancer.html Bio & Medicine Nanophysics Fri, 14 Jun 2024 13:30:01 EDT news637588583 Researchers from Tohoku University and Kyoto University have successfully developed a DNA-based molecular controller that autonomously directs the assembly and disassembly of molecular robots. This pioneering technology marks a significant step towards advanced autonomous molecular systems with potential applications in medicine and nanotechnology. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-disassembling-swarm-molecular-robots-dna.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Fri, 14 Jun 2024 09:53:59 EDT news637577636 SMU nanotechnology expert MinJun Kim and his team have developed a faster, more precise way to detect the properties and interactions of individual proteins crucial in rapid, accurate, and real-time monitoring of virus-cell interactions. This could pave the way for innovative medical therapies and advancements to be created using gene therapy—a technique that utilizes harmless viruses to modify a person's genes to treat or cure disease. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-tool-protein-interactions-avenues-gene.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 13 Jun 2024 11:30:04 EDT news637497001 Researchers at Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University report in Biosensors and Bioelectronics: X a novel approach for detecting a particular biomolecule associated with several diseases. The results show good sensitivity and selectivity, and may lead to the development of a low-cost, rapid detection device useful in cancer prognosis. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-electrochemical-biosensor-cancer-prognosis.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 13 Jun 2024 10:11:03 EDT news637492261 Adoptive T-cell therapy has revolutionized medicine. A patient's T-cells—a type of white blood cell that is part of the body's immune system—are extracted and modified in a lab and then infused back into the body, to seek and destroy infection, or cancer cells. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-nanowires-elite-warriors-cell-therapy.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Wed, 12 Jun 2024 16:03:22 EDT news637426999 Inspired by nature, the researchers developed a piezocatalytically-induced controlled mineralization strategy using piezoelectric polymer poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) fibers with ordered micro-nano structures to prepare biomimetic tissue engineering scaffolds with a bone-like microenvironment (pcm-PLLA), in which PLLA-mediated piezoelectric catalysis promoted the in-situ polymerization of dopamine and subsequently regulated the controllable growth of hydroxyapatite crystals on the fiber surface. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-piezocatalytically-mineralization-scaffold-bone-microenvironment.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 12 Jun 2024 15:33:03 EDT news637425182 Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed microscopic robots, known as microrobots, capable of swimming through the lungs to deliver cancer-fighting medication directly to metastatic tumors. This approach has shown promise in mice, where it inhibited the growth and spread of tumors that had metastasized to the lungs, thereby boosting survival rates compared to control treatments. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-microrobots-cancer-drugs-metastatic-lung.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 12 Jun 2024 14:00:02 EDT news637402022 The targeted treatment of pan-cancer by messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine is a hot topic in drug research. A key challenge in mRNA design is the construction of delivery systems called lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), which serve as carriers to deliver mRNA therapies or vaccines to target cells. The preparation and screening of LNPs components involve long cycles and high costs. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-scientists-ai-approach-lipid-nanoparticles.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 12 Jun 2024 12:54:03 EDT news637415641 Bacterial biofilm infections are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among patients with cystic fibrosis or those with weakened immune systems. Treatment for biofilm infections usually entails intensive antibiotic therapy. There is an urgent need for well-designed agents to achieve in vivo diagnosis and precise anti-biofilm therapy without bacterial resistance. Unfortunately, no effective agent has been designed to perform these tasks adequately. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-lanthanide-nanohybrids-pulmonary-biofilm-infections.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 11 Jun 2024 09:39:48 EDT news637317584 Two doses of allergen-encapsulating nanoparticles delivered intravenously prevented anaphylaxis during a food allergy test in mice, according to a study led by University of Michigan researchers. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-nanoparticles-reprogram-mouse-immune-cope.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 10 Jun 2024 13:04:18 EDT news637243454 RNA droplets can now be used to perform logical operations that take microRNA sequences as inputs, report scientists from Tokyo Tech. By self-assembling into network-like structures, RNA molecules form liquid-state droplets. These RNA droplets disperse only when the correct microRNA sequences are present by performing the logical AND operation. This innovative strategy could pave the way to advances in biomolecular sensing, artificial cells, and computational biodevices. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-untapped-power-logical-rna-droplets.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 07 Jun 2024 11:34:28 EDT news636978864 Researchers at The University of Texas at El Paso are developing a new therapeutic approach that uses nanoparticles for the treatment of skin and lung fibrosis, conditions that can result in severe damage to the body's tissues. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-pharmacy-nanoparticle-treatment-skin-lung.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 07 Jun 2024 09:24:03 EDT news636971041 Acute kidney injury has many different causes that can result in a high death rate if not properly treated. There are currently limited therapeutic strategies available to manage acute kidney injury. However, a new joint study by Cardiff University School of Medicine and TaiPei Medical University revealed "major experimental evidence" regarding the therapeutic potential of extracellular vesicles in acute kidney injury. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-extracellular-vesicles-potential-treatment-acute.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 07 Jun 2024 09:15:02 EDT news636970501 An article published in the Journal of Controlled Release details the results of a cross-border scientific collaboration that has developed an alternative for the treatment of solid tumors based on inhibition of the inflammatory tumor microenvironment (TME). https://phys.org/news/2024-06-chimeric-nanomicelles-alternative-treatment-solid.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 06 Jun 2024 13:57:04 EDT news636901022 Human life begins with a single egg cell that grows into a human being with trillions of cells. To ensure that the highly complex development of tissues and organs is as protected as possible, the placental barrier keeps pathogens and foreign substances out. Tina Bürki and her team from Empa's Particles-Biology Interactions laboratory in St. Gallen are investigating how this protective mechanism copes with nanoparticles. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-links-nanoparticles-blood-vessel-formation.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 06 Jun 2024 10:55:54 EDT news636890150 Advanced technologies enable the controlled release of medicine to specific cells in the body. Scientists argue these same technologies must be applied to agriculture if growers are to meet increasing global food demands. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-farming-nanotechnology-argument-medical-insights.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Thu, 06 Jun 2024 09:02:58 EDT news636883375 National University of Singapore (NUS) chemists have developed a strategy using disulfide-containing small molecules to facilitate the reversible control and delivery of ribonucleic acid (RNA). https://phys.org/news/2024-06-rna-functionality-redox-responsive-approach.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 06 Jun 2024 08:59:03 EDT news636883142 Scientists at the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI), have employed artificial intelligence techniques to improve the design and production of nanofibers used in wearable nanofiber acoustic energy harvesters (NAEH). These acoustic devices capture sound energy from the environment and convert it into electrical energy, which can then be applied in useful devices, such as hearing aids. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-nanofibrous-acoustic-energy-harvesters-ai.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Mon, 03 Jun 2024 11:03:40 EDT news636631416 A new, nano-scale look at how the SARS-CoV-2 virus replicates in cells may offer greater precision in drug development, a Stanford University team reports in Nature Communications. Using advanced microscopy techniques, the researchers produced what might be some of the most crisp images available of the virus's RNA and replication structures, which they witnessed form spherical shapes around the nucleus of the infected cell. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-viruses-action-super-resolution-microscopy.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 31 May 2024 14:31:04 EDT news636384661 Wounds that are superficial for some can be life-threatening for others. With diabetic wounds, healing can be slow, particularly in the feet, increasing the tissue's susceptibility to infection. Foot ulcers and other diabetic foot complications have similar mortality rates to some cancers, yet progress toward improved treatments has plateaued. Now, researchers may have found a better way to kickstart the healing process. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-nanomaterial-quickly-wounds-diabetic-animal.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Fri, 31 May 2024 10:32:05 EDT news636370321 A University of Houston researcher is reporting a new method to detect cancer which could make cancer detection as simple as taking a blood test. With a 98.7% accuracy rate, the method—which combines PANORAMA imaging with fluorescent imaging—has the potential to detect cancer at the earliest stage and improve treatment efficacy. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-method-advances-cancer-tiny-blood.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 30 May 2024 11:21:03 EDT news636286861 RIKEN chemists have demonstrated a gold-nanocluster system that carries two components of a drug in a controlled ratio for maximum cancer-cell killing effect. The active drug remains safely masked until red light triggers its release, minimizing collateral damage to healthy cells near the tumor. The study is published in Chemical Science. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-antitumor-drug-cancer-treatments-minimal.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 30 May 2024 10:48:03 EDT news636284881 To enhance the fields of drug development and medical research, there has been a strategic pivot from traditional animal experiments to the adoption of novel in vitro models. These models meticulously replicate human physiology, spurring the development of microphysiological systems or Organs-on-Chips. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-multi-electrode-gut-chip-intestinal.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 29 May 2024 13:24:04 EDT news636207842