Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed photo-luminescent carbon nanodots that exhibit reversible switching of their optical properties in cancer cells. The team’s work was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. The carbon nanoparticles could be applied to intracellular imaging and drug delivery, the authors said. “One of the major advantages […]
Research & Development
Democratic senators float bill to protect ‘scientific integrity’
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) introduced a bill this week that aims to protect and promote ‘scientific integrity’. The legislation builds on policies from former President Barack Obama’s 2009 executive order, which required federal agencies to define how they planned to safeguard scientific integrity. The bill, which has 27 co-signers and has been referred to the Committee […]
New technique rapidly tests nanoparticles for safety
Researchers from the University of Geneva and the University of Fribourg have developed a screening method that rapidly assesses and selects nanoparticles for their biocompatibility. The team’s work was published in the journal Nanoscale. The researchers touted that they can determine if a nanoparticle will be compatible with the human body in less than a week […]
Researchers develop bioink for 3D-printed pills
Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles have developed a viable bioink made out of hyaluronic acid for 3D-printed pills. In this study, researchers used an inket technique to 3D print the pills, citing the method’s speed and ability to print at room temperature. Its speed is important for scalability and mass production, while […]
Propeller Health, Novartis ink collaboration for connected inhaler
Propeller Health said today that it landed a collaborative agreement with Novartis (NYSE:NVS) to develop a custom add-on sensor for the Breezhaler inhaler. The partnership is focused on patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Europe. The Breezhaler is a capsule-based, dry powder inhaler and is a part of Novartis’ portfolio of COPD therapies. The custom […]
Researchers develop nanoparticle delivery system for gene-editing tool
Researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst have designed a nanoparticle delivery system to assist the gene-editing tool known as CRISPR/Cas9 across the cell membrane and into the cell nucleus, effectively avoiding the cell’s natural defense mechanisms. The team’s work was published in ACS Nano. “CRISPR has two components: a scissor-like protein called Cas9, and an […]
Acuitas touts lipid-nanoparticle delivery of mRNA vaccine for Zika
Acuitas Therapeutics touted preliminary data that evaluated its messenger RNA vaccine for the Zika virus. The company uses a lipid-nanoparticle delivery system to introduce its mRNA vaccine into cells. The team’s work, which was published in Nature, showed that a single low-dose immunization with its vaccine triggered an immune response in animals and protected them from infection at […]
Bob Langer on drug delivery
Robert Langer, a pioneer in drug delivery and the most cited engineer in history, has co-founded 30 companies and treated more than 20 million patients as a result of his innovations. In a conversation with Wired, he spoke about his career, which has spanned for 4 decades and began with his 1976 discovery of a method to delay […]
Researchers develop immune cells that infiltrate tumors
Researchers from the Okayama University have developed a group of immune cells that can infiltrate tumors and deliver viral vectors, destroying them from the inside out. The team’s work was published in the journal Scientific Reports. The team developed the tumor-targeting technique using a human T-cell line known as HOZOT, which naturally targets human cancer cells. HOZOT cell […]
Early research shows shark antibodies carrying drugs across blood-brain barrier
Danish pharmaceutical company Lundbeck made an undisclosed milestone payment to biotech Ossianix Inc., after experiments showed that shark antibodies effectively shuttled potential drugs across the blood-brain barrier in mice. The 2 companies established a research collaboration in 2014, focusing on technology development and the delivery of antibody-based therapies across the blood-brain barrier. Ossianix said that […]
