(Press-News.org) Revolutionary nanotechnology method could help improve the development of new medicine and reduce costs. Researchers from the Nano-Science Center and the Department of Chemistry at the University of Copenhagen have developed a new screening method that makes it possible to study cell membrane proteins that bind drugs, such as cannabis and adrenaline, while reducing the consumption of precious samples by a billion times.
About 40% of all medicines used today work through the so-called "G protein-coupled receptors". These receptors react to changes in the cell environment, for example, to increased amounts of chemicals like cannabis, adrenaline or the medications we take and are therefore of paramount importance to the pharmaceutical industry.
"There is a lot of attention on research into "G protein-coupled receptors", because they have a key roll in recognizing and binding different substances. Our new method is of interest to the industry because it can contribute to faster and cheaper drug development", explains Professor Dimitrios Stamou, who heads the Nanomedicine research group at the Nano-Science Center, where the method has been developed. The new method is described in a publication at the esteemed scientific journal Nature Methods.
Cheaper to test and develop medicine
The new method will reduce dramatically the use of precious membrane protein samples. Traditionally, you test a medicinal substance by using small drops of a sample containing the protein that the medicine binds to. If you look closely enough however, each drop is composed of thousands of billions of small nano-containers containing the isolated proteins. Until now, it has been assumed that all of these nano-containers are identical. But it turns out this is not the case and that is why researchers can use a billion times smaller samples for testing drug candidates than hitherto.
"We have discovered that each one of the countless nano-containers is unique. Our method allows us to collect information about each individual nano-container. We can use this information to construct high-throughput screens, where you can, for example, test how medicinal drugs bind G protein-coupled receptors", explains Signe Mathiasen, who is first author of the paper describing the screening method in Nature Methods. Signe Mathiasen has worked on developing a screening method over the last four years at the University of Copenhagen, where she wrote her PhD thesis research project under the supervision of Professor Stamou.
INFORMATION:
The development of the new nanotechnology method was supported by the Danish Strategic Research Council and the Lundbeck Foundation.
Read the article
Kontakt
Professor Dimitrios Stamou
Mobil: +45 24 98 16 58
Rikke Bøjesen
Head of Administration
Mobil: 28 75 04 13
New knowledge of cannabis paves the way for drug development
2014-09-08
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Study examines discrimination among homeless adults in Toronto with mental illness
2014-09-08
TORONTO, Sept. 8, 2014—Vulnerable populations in ethnically diverse Toronto reported more discrimination by health care workers based on their housing status, mental health or substance abuse issues than race, a new study has found.
Forty-two per cent of people surveyed reported at least one form of perceived discrimination by health care workers, lead author Dr. Vicky Stergiopoulos wrote in a paper published today in the journal BMC Health Services Research.
The most prevalent form of perceived discrimination was due to mental illness or substance abuse (33 per cent) ...
Poor recording of physical health and medication could be causing dementia trials to fail
2014-09-08
Dementia trials could be failing because they all-too-often overlook the physical health of patients – according to new research from the University of East Anglia and Aston University.
More than 60 per cent of people with dementia are estimated to have three or more other conditions (co-morbidities).
The research shows how the combined effects of co-morbidities including diabetes, lung disease, arthritis and chronic heart failure are not being adequately described in dementia trials.
It investigates the extent of co-morbidities in people with dementia and the recording ...
Food craving is stronger, but controllable, for kids
2014-09-08
Children show stronger food craving than adolescents and adults, but they are also able to use a cognitive strategy that reduces craving, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
"These findings are important because they suggest that we may have another tool in our toolbox to combat childhood obesity," says psychological scientist and lead researcher Jennifer A. Silvers, a post-doctoral fellow at Columbia University in the laboratory of Professor Kevin Ochsner.
Most interventions aimed at ...
Quick-cooled beers, perfect burgers and more: Chemistry Life Hacks, Vol. 3 (video)
2014-09-08
WASHINGTON, September 8, 2014 — It's the series that's one-part MacGyver, one-part Mendeleev. "Chemistry Life Hacks" is back with new tips that can change your life, or at least the temperature of your beer. Learn how to cool your brews quickly before the big game starts, get fruit flies out of your kitchen for good, and how to cook the perfect patty on the grill. Check out these tips and more at: http://youtu.be/QUE2O1276P8.
Subscribe to the series at Reactions YouTube, and follow us on Twitter @ACSreactions to be the first to see our latest videos.
INFORMATION:
The ...
Layered graphene sandwich for next generation electronics
2014-09-08
Writing in Nature Nanotechnology, the researchers have demonstrated how combining the two-dimensional materials in a stack could create perfect crystals capable of being used in next generation transistors.
Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), otherwise known as white graphene, is one of a family of two-dimension materials discovered in the wake of the isolation of graphene at the University in 2004. Manchester researchers have previously demonstrated how combining 2D materials, in stacks called heterostructures, could lead to materials capable of being designed to meet industrial ...
Light detector to revolutionize night vision technology
2014-09-08
Researchers have developed a light detector that could revolutionise chemical sensing and night vision technology.
In the latest issue of Nature Nanotechnology, the team of researchers at Monash University, the University of Maryland in the US, and the US Naval Research Laboratory, have created the light detector based on graphene – a single sheet of interconnected carbon atoms.
The detector is capable of detecting light over an unusually broad range of wavelengths, included in this are terahertz waves – between infrared and microwave radiation, where sensitive light ...
Doped graphene nanoribbons with potential
2014-09-08
Graphene is a semiconductor when prepared as an ultra-narrow ribbon – although the material is actually a conductive material. Researchers from Empa and the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research have now developed a new method to selectively dope graphene molecules with nitrogen atoms. By seamlessly stringing together doped and undoped graphene pieces, they were able to form "heterojunctions" in the nanoribbons, thereby fulfilling a basic requirement for electronic current to flow in only one direction when voltage is applied – the first step towards a graphene transistor. ...
Bacteria from bees possible alternative to antibiotics
2014-09-08
Raw honey has been used against infections for millennia, before honey - as we now know it - was manufactured and sold in stores. So what is the key to its' antimicrobial properties? Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have identified a unique group of 13 lactic acid bacteria found in fresh honey, from the honey stomach of bees. The bacteria produce a myriad of active antimicrobial compounds.
These lactic acid bacteria have now been tested on severe human wound pathogens such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Pseudomonas aeruginosa and vancomycin-resistant ...
Father's smoking prior to conception could increase asthma risk for baby
2014-09-08
Munich, Germany: A baby has a greater risk of asthma if his or her father smoked prior to conception.
The research, presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress in Munich today (08 September 2014), is the first study in humans to analyse the link between a father's smoking habits before conception and a child's asthma. The findings add to growing evidence from animal studies which suggest that the father's exposures before parenthood can harm his child.
The study analysed the smoking habits of over 13,000 men and women via a questionnaire. ...
Input from a psychologist can help improve asthma symptoms
2014-09-08
Munich, Germany: Psychological input into the treatment and management of people with severe asthma can help improve their symptoms, according to a new study.
People with severe asthma often experience symptoms that are difficult to treat. There is current debate in the healthcare community about the best way to treat these people. Around 27% of people with severe asthma are thought to experience psychological problems'; however, this isn't routinely addressed by asthma healthcare professionals.
The new research, presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) ...