INFORMATION:
Skoltech is a private international university located in Russia. Established in 2011 in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Skoltech is cultivating a new generation of leaders in the fields of science, technology and business, is conducting research in breakthrough fields, and is promoting technological innovation with the goal of solving critical problems that face Russia and the world. Skoltech is focusing on six priority areas: data science and artificial intelligence, life sciences, advanced materials and modern design methods, energy efficiency, photonics and quantum technologies, and advanced research. Web: https://www.skoltech.ru/.
Trackable and guided 'nanomissiles' deliver cancer-fighting drug straight to the tumor
2021-03-17
(Press-News.org) Researchers from Skoltech and their colleagues from Hadassah Medical Center have developed hybrid nanostructured particles that can be magnetically guided to the tumor, tracked by their fluorescence and pushed to release the drug on demand by ultrasound. This technology can help make cancer chemotherapy more targeted. The paper was published in the journal Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces.Current treatments for cancer include chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation, and surgery, but these are often not selective enough to target just the tumor and not the healthy tissues around it. They are also highly toxic for the whole organism, which makes therapy hard to tolerate for the patient. One solution to these problems is so-called focal therapy, and specifically delivering drugs to the tumor in nanoparticles, for which several biocompatible materials have been explored. That technology can also be used for diagnostic purposes, augmenting medical imaging.The Skoltech team, led by Professor Dmitry Gorin from the Center for Photonics and Quantum Materials and Professor Timofei Zatsepin from the Center for Life Sciences, developed multifunctional nanostructured particles containing magnetic nanoparticles, fluorescent Cy5 or Cy7 dyes, and the drug doxorubicin. MRI imaging was performed by Dr. Kirill Petrov from the Hadassah Medical Center. Dynamic light scattering, fluorescent tomography, and histology studies were performed using the equipment of the Bioimaging and Spectroscopy Core Facility of the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology. These tiny capsules can be magnetically guided to the specific sites of the tumor, provide good contrast in high-resolution MRI, optoacoustic, and fluorescent imaging, and can be triggered to release the drug with ultrasound. Multicomponent capsules allow multifuctionality of the capsules: multimodality for imaging (fluorescent, optoacoustic, MRI), remote release (focused ultrasound), and navigation (magnetic field gradient)."Drug delivery carriers were prepared by combination of two methods. The first one was suggested by the co-authors of this article earlier and is called freezing induced method (FIL). This method has been successfully applied for loading of vaterite submicron particles by inorganic nanoparticles, proteins, low molecular drugs etc. The vaterite particles served as templates for drug delivery carriers and were removed after formation of a polymeric shell. Second method is layer by layer assembly that has been used for polymer biodegradable shell formation," Gorin explains.The team used in vitro experiments and in vivo animal studies to show that the method is functional: they were able to show increased targeted delivery of doxorubicin in the liver after ultrasound-mediated release."This technology should pass preclinical studies using animal models to evaluate therapeutic efficiency and safety of such drug delivery system. It will be the next step of our research," Zatsepin notes.
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Cu-based small-pore zeolites for deNOx
2021-03-17
The diesel engine is the backbone of transportation due to its irreplaceability as the primary power source for the freight, navigation and marine engine industries and non-road engineering machinery for the foreseeable future. However, the control of contaminants from fuel combustion has become an urgent global concern. Nitrogen oxides are the primary pollutants from transportation and can contribute to the formation of haze, photochemical smog and acid rain. Selective catalytic reduction of NOx with ammonia (NH3-SCR) technology has been successfully and commercially applied for controlling pollution from diesel vehicle exhaust. The development of ...
https://discovery.kaust.edu.sa/en/article/1098/the-right-ring-count-to-harness-waste-heat
2021-03-17
Electronic organic materials offer promise to support alternative and green energy sources to meet escalating global energy demands and strict environmental regulations. A KAUST-led team has now developed electron-transporting, so-called n-type, organic semiconductors that could help generate electricity from waste heat released by industrial processes and homes.
Thermoelectric generators that can convert temperature changes or gradients into electricity are highly suited for harnessing waste heat. These readily scalable devices are environmentally friendly and do not have any moving parts, which makes them ...
CO2 electrotransformation into value-added chemicals in ionic liquid-based electrolytes
2021-03-17
The use of fossil fuels as energy carriers and raw materials promotes the rapid development of the society. However, the excessive exploitation of fossil fuels gives rise to the energy crisis and undesirable environmental changes. In particular, a continuous increase of CO2 concentration in the atmosphere, which is > 400 ppm today and is estimated to triple by 2040, might result in a series of environmental issues, such as global warming, rising sea levels, and more extreme weather. Therefore, cutting CO2 emissions and developing abundant renewable energy are urgent needs and challenges for our society.
CO2 is not only one of the main greenhouse gases but also an abundant, nontoxic, nonflammable, and renewable C1 resource. Electrochemical conversion of CO2 is an attractive way to recycle ...
PPE supplied to the NHS during COVID-19 pandemic poses challenge to the environment
2021-03-17
According to a new study published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, the carbon footprint of personal protective equipment (PPE) provided to health and social care staff in England during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic was equivalent to flying from London to New York 244 times every day. The good news is that adopting a range of strategies including increased UK manufacture, reusing and recycling could reduce the environmental impact of PPE dramatically while maintaining the safety of staff and patients.
The study, by Brighton and Sussex Medical School and Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, found that the 3 billion items of PPE used from ...
New aluminum and samarium hexaboride-based composite material with near-zero expansion
2021-03-17
Precision or invar alloys have been developed by scientists for many centuries. These iron and nickel-based alloys are capable of keeping their size unchanged within a given range of temperatures. Because of this, they are used in the manufacture of precision gages, standards of length, details for mechanical dial plates, and similar devices. However, invar alloys lack many other useful physical characteristics, and this limits their use in other areas, for example, those that require high thermal conductivity of materials. Therefore, scientists have long been trying to create a unique composite material based on other metals ...
Evolved to stop bacteria, designed for stability
2021-03-17
Connections are crucial. Bacteria may be most dangerous when they connect - banding together to build fortress-like structures known as biofilms that afford them resistance to antibiotics. But a biomolecular scientist in Israel and a microbiologist in California have forged their own connections that could lead to new protocols for laying siege to biofilm-protected colonies. Their research was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), USA.
This interdisciplinary collaboration began with a lecture given at the Weizmann Institute of Science in the Life Sciences Colloquium. Prof. Dianne Newman of the California Institute of Technology was the speaker, ...
Simple blood test could replace surgery for some brain tumour patients
2021-03-17
A research breakthrough shows that a simple blood test could reduce, or in some cases replace, the need for intrusive surgery when determining the best course of treatment for patients with a specific type of brain tumour.
Researchers at the Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence at the University of Plymouth have discovered a biomarker which helps to distinguish whether meningioma - the most common form of adult primary brain tumour - is grade I or grade II.
The grading is significant because lower grade tumours can sometimes remain dormant for long periods, not requiring high risk surgery or harsh treatments such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Tumours classified as grade II can progress to become cancerous and more aggressive treatment may be needed in order ...
Pressure sensors could ensure a proper helmet fit to help protect the brain
2021-03-17
Many athletes, from football players to equestrians, rely on helmets to protect their heads from impacts or falls. However, a loose or improperly fitted helmet could leave them vulnerable to traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), a leading cause of death or disability in the U.S. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Sensors have developed a highly sensitive pressure sensor cap that, when worn under a helmet, could help reveal whether the headgear is a perfect fit.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1.6 to 3.8 million sports- and recreation-related TBIs occur each year in the U.S. Field data suggest that loose or improperly fitted helmets can contribute ...
Socioeconomic factors play key role in COVID-19 impact on Blacks, Hispanics
2021-03-17
March 17, 2021-- A new study published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society reveals how socioeconomic factors partially explain the increased odds that Black and Hispanic Americans have of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
In "Association of Race and Ethnicity With COVID-19 Test Positivity and Hospitalization Is Mediated by Socioeconomic Factors," Hayley B. Gershengorn, MD, associate professor, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and co-authors ...
Scientists shrink pancreatic tumors by starving their cellular 'neighbors'
2021-03-17
Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute demonstrated for the first time that blocking "cell drinking," or macropinocytosis, in the thick tissue surrounding a pancreatic tumor slowed tumor growth--providing more evidence that macropinocytosis is a driver of pancreatic cancer growth and is an important therapeutic target. The study was published in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
"Now that we know that macropinocytosis is 'revved up' in both pancreatic cancer cells and the surrounding fibrotic tissue, blocking the process might provide a 'double whammy' to pancreatic tumors," ...