Using living cells as an 'invisibility cloak'
2011-06-16
(Press-News.org) The quest for better ways of encapsulating medicine so that it can reach diseased parts of the body has led scientists to harness — for the first time — living human cells to produce natural capsules with channels for releasing drugs and diagnostic agents. The report appears in ACS' journal Nano Letters.
In the report, Dayang Wang and colleagues explain that the human body is very efficient at getting rid of foreign substances. Some foreign substances, such as viruses, are harmful and should be removed. But the body also considers drugs and nanoparticles — meant to treat diseases and allow physicians to see cells and organs — to be foreign objects, and they are also quickly removed. To help these substances stay in the body longer, scientists have tried to fool it by encapsulating these substances in coatings that more closely resemble natural cells. Over the years, researchers have tested many different artificial coatings, but they failed to stay in the body for very long. So, Wang and colleagues set out to make a better capsule — by using living cells as an "invisibility cloak".
Because the group's so-called "cell membrane capsules" (CMCs) were made from real living cells, they tricked the body into thinking they were supposed to be there. Thus, drugs and nanoparticles inside CMCs stayed in the body much longer than those inside other encapsulation materials. "Hence the CMCs provide the first intrinsically biocompatible and functional drug delivery and release vehicles," say the researchers.
INFORMATION:
The authors acknowledge funding from the Max Planck Society and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.
END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2011-06-16
The small science of nanotechnology — which deals with objects so tiny that thousands would fit inside the period at the end of this sentence — is having a big impact in the construction industry, according to the cover story in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the American Chemical Society's weekly newsmagazine. Indeed, some experts believe that nanotechnology will revolutionize the industry, which builds, renovates, and repairs society's infrastructure.
In the article C&EN senior editor Bethany Halford describes nanotechnology's surprising ...
2011-06-16
Harmful mineral oils from the printing inks used on cardboard can migrate into food if recycled cardboard is used for food packaging. It may contaminate food even if the recycled cardboard is used for the corrugated card transport box that holds individual packs. In tests on experimental packs of fine noodles, researchers in Zurich, Switzerland, found that food rapidly absorbed 10 times the recommended limit for concentration of these contaminating oils from the transport box. The findings were published in the latest edition of Packaging Technology and Science.
The world-recognised ...
2011-06-16
The Eatery on Beach Street in Fort Worth now features iPads with the popular game Angry Birds to entertain children while Chef Don Gifford prepares homestyle meals from scratch.
"Young ones can help the Angry Birds get revenge for stolen eggs on The Eatery's iPads while I make their favorites from our new dinner menu," said Chef Don Gifford.
"Our made-from-scratch gourmet Mac and Cheese bar has been bringing lots of families with children to The Eatery on Thursday nights, and the kids light up when they see the iPads," said Cindy Gifford.
The ...
2011-06-16
A high level of a hormone that regulates phosphate is associated with an increased risk of kidney failure and death among chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients, according to a recent study led by researchers at the University of Miami and funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Diseases and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) at the National Institutes of Health. Results are in the June 15 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
In a previous study of patients beginning hemodialysis for treatment of kidney failure, individuals with elevated blood ...
2011-06-16
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – A Rutgers University astrophysicist is part of a scientific team that has unveiled evidence of black holes being common in the early universe. The discovery, made using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, shows that these young black holes grew more aggressively than scientists previously thought.
The finding has important implications for how astronomers understand the early cosmos, according to Eric Gawiser, assistant professor in Rutgers' Department of Physics and Astronomy, School of Arts and Sciences.
"There is a deep and mysterious connection ...
2011-06-16
Every living plant cell and animal cell is surrounded by a membrane that helps it communicate with other cells and the outside world. These cellular membranes contain receptor molecules that serve as the cell's eyes and ears.
The receptor molecules accomplish three basic things in the communication process: 1) recognize an outside signal, 2) transport that signal across the cell's membrane and 3) initiate the reading of the signal inside the cell and then initiate the cell's response to that signal. These steps are collectively known as transmembrane signaling.
Transmembrane ...
2011-06-16
FAIRFAX, Va., June 15, 2011—George Mason University scientists discovered recently that a phenomenon called a giant magnetic rope is the cause of solar storms. Confirming the existence of this formation is a key first step in helping to mitigate the adverse effects that solar storm eruptions can have on satellite communications on Earth.
The discovery was made by associate professor Jie Zhang and his graduate student Xin Cheng using images from the NASA Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) spacecraft.
Though the magnetic rope was believed to be the cause of these giant ...
2011-06-16
MR enterography reduces exposure to ionizing radiation
Revising protocol may reduce costs, complexity while maintaining integrity of diagnosis
Use of anti-peristalitc agent may not be necessary to obtain high-quality images
(Providence, R.I.) – A new study from Rhode Island Hospital has found that MR enterography (MRE) without the use of an anti-peristaltic agent were as reliable as CT enterography (CTE) in determining the presence of Crohn's disease. Additionally, MRE reduces the patient's exposure to ionizing radiation. The study is now published online in advance ...
2011-06-16
Men are sometimes criticized for being unwilling to ask for directions when they travel, but they can benefit from looking for help as they begin their journeys as fathers, according to a researcher on fatherhood at the University of Chicago.
Along the way, they should not shy from asserting their roles, said Jennifer Bellamy, an Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration.
"Sometimes dads feel like they don't get the same level of support that moms do when they become parents, but I think dads should seek opportunities from ...
2011-06-16
CHICAGO (June 15, 2011) – A study of Canadian home-care patients suggests doctors may be overprescribing antibiotics for patients receiving ongoing medical care at home. The study, published in the June issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, suggests that more should be done to monitor antibiotic use in home-care patients to avoid misuse that could decrease the efficacy of the drugs over time.
According to the study, led by researchers from McMaster University in Ontario, antibiotic prescriptions ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Using living cells as an 'invisibility cloak'
