News from the NNI Community - Research Advances Funded by Agencies Participating in the NNI

Date Published
(Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation)

Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas have developed a promising method for remotely stimulating activity in deep brain regions, advancing understanding of how molecules act in the brain and paving the way for better cancer treatments and therapies for infectious diseases. The approach is based on the powerful combination of gold nanoparticles and lasers.

(Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation)

Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas have developed a promising method for remotely stimulating activity in deep brain regions, advancing understanding of how molecules act in the brain and paving the way for better cancer treatments and therapies for infectious diseases. The approach is based on the powerful combination of gold nanoparticles and lasers.

(Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation)

Ellagic acid has been shown to mitigate Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. But for ellagic acid to be effective, its cytotoxic potential needs to be reduced so only its anti-oxidant potential can be exploited. Researchers at The University of Texas at El Paso have developed a nanohybrid — a combination of two nanomaterials through chemical bonding — that can be used to optimally deliver ellagic acid into the human body. The researchers discovered that a nanohybrid made by combining ellagic acid and a sugar called chitosan reduces the cytotoxicity of ellagic acid while enhancing its anti-oxidant properties. This nanohybrid is uniquely suited for drug release over extended time periods.

(Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation)

Ellagic acid has been shown to mitigate Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. But for ellagic acid to be effective, its cytotoxic potential needs to be reduced so only its anti-oxidant potential can be exploited. Researchers at The University of Texas at El Paso have developed a nanohybrid — a combination of two nanomaterials through chemical bonding — that can be used to optimally deliver ellagic acid into the human body. The researchers discovered that a nanohybrid made by combining ellagic acid and a sugar called chitosan reduces the cytotoxicity of ellagic acid while enhancing its anti-oxidant properties. This nanohybrid is uniquely suited for drug release over extended time periods.

(Funded by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health)

Flipping the standard viral drug targeting approach on its head, engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a promising new method for preventing HIV from proliferating in the body: coating polymer nanoparticles with the membranes of T helper cells and turning them into decoys to intercept viral particles and block them from binding and infiltrating the body's actual immune cells. This technique could be applied to many different kinds of viruses.

(Funded by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health)

Flipping the standard viral drug targeting approach on its head, engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a promising new method for preventing HIV from proliferating in the body: coating polymer nanoparticles with the membranes of T helper cells and turning them into decoys to intercept viral particles and block them from binding and infiltrating the body's actual immune cells. This technique could be applied to many different kinds of viruses.

(Funded by the National Science Foundation)

Researchers at Penn State have developed a new way to deliver therapeutic proteins inside the body by using an acoustically sensitive nanoscale carrier to encapsulate the proteins and ultrasound to image and guide the carrier to the exact location required. Ultrasound then breaks the carrier, allowing the proteins to enter the cell. The scientists are leveraging this technology to deliver antibodies that can alter abnormal signaling pathways in tumor cells.

(Funded by the National Science Foundation)

Researchers at Penn State have developed a new way to deliver therapeutic proteins inside the body by using an acoustically sensitive nanoscale carrier to encapsulate the proteins and ultrasound to image and guide the carrier to the exact location required. Ultrasound then breaks the carrier, allowing the proteins to enter the cell. The scientists are leveraging this technology to deliver antibodies that can alter abnormal signaling pathways in tumor cells.

(Funded by the National Institutes of Health)

Researchers at Caltech have developed an electronic skin that could be applied directly to human skin. Made from soft, flexible rubber, the electronic skin can be embedded with sensors to monitor heart rate, body temperature, and levels of blood sugar. The electronic skin can also monitor nerve signals that control muscles by running on biofuel cells made from carbon nanotubes and powered by human sweat.

(Funded by the National Institutes of Health)

Researchers at Caltech have developed an electronic skin that could be applied directly to human skin. Made from soft, flexible rubber, the electronic skin can be embedded with sensors to monitor heart rate, body temperature, and levels of blood sugar. The electronic skin can also monitor nerve signals that control muscles by running on biofuel cells made from carbon nanotubes and powered by human sweat.