Special delivery nanoparticle can program stem cells while inside the body

Researchers from Georgia Tech, Emory University, and the University of California, Davis, have created a technique that could lead to new, less-invasive treatments for blood disorders and genetic diseases. "This would be an alternative to invasive hematopoietic stem cell therapies – we could just give you an IV drip," said James Dahlman, one of the researchers involved in this study. "It simplifies the process and reduces the risks to patients.” The procedure uses lipid nanoparticles that carry genetic instructions to hematopoietic stem cells, but unlike current therapies, in this procedure, the nanoparticles don’t have targeting ligands, and they can dodge the liver, which acts as the body's primary blood filter.