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

Biomedical and optics researchers at the University of Rochester are working to better understand the prevalence of microplastics in drinking water and their potential impacts on human health. They are collaborating with SiMPore, a company that uses nanomembrane technology, which was initially developed at the University, to devise ways to quickly filter and identify particles of plastic that are 5 millimeters or smaller in size in drinking water samples.

Biomedical and optics researchers at the University of Rochester are working to better understand the prevalence of microplastics in drinking water and their potential impacts on human health. They are collaborating with SiMPore, a company that uses nanomembrane technology, which was initially developed at the University, to devise ways to quickly filter and identify particles of plastic that are 5 millimeters or smaller in size in drinking water samples.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have demonstrated that a type of biodegradable, lab-engineered nanoparticle they fashioned can successfully deliver a "suicide gene" to pediatric brain tumor cells implanted in the brains of mice. The researchers found that a combination of the suicide gene and ganciclovir delivered by intraperitoneal injection to mice killed more than 65% of two types of pediatric brain tumor cells.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have demonstrated that a type of biodegradable, lab-engineered nanoparticle they fashioned can successfully deliver a "suicide gene" to pediatric brain tumor cells implanted in the brains of mice. The researchers found that a combination of the suicide gene and ganciclovir delivered by intraperitoneal injection to mice killed more than 65% of two types of pediatric brain tumor cells.

Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have found that a type of vaccine called a nucleoside-modified mRNA encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles (mRNA-LNP) vaccine, which was developed at Penn, successfully protected young mice against infections in the presence of maternal antibodies. The study suggests that this protection occurred because the vaccine programs cells to constantly churn out new antigens for a prolonged period of time, rather than delivering a one-time shot of a viral protein.

Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have found that a type of vaccine called a nucleoside-modified mRNA encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles (mRNA-LNP) vaccine, which was developed at Penn, successfully protected young mice against infections in the presence of maternal antibodies. The study suggests that this protection occurred because the vaccine programs cells to constantly churn out new antigens for a prolonged period of time, rather than delivering a one-time shot of a viral protein.

Researchers at Columbia University and the University of California San Diego have, for the first time, combined an optical nano-probe with magnetic nano-imaging to simultaneously examine electrical, magnetic, and optical properties of quantum materials.

Researchers at Columbia University and the University of California San Diego have, for the first time, combined an optical nano-probe with magnetic nano-imaging to simultaneously examine electrical, magnetic, and optical properties of quantum materials.

Researchers at The Ohio State University have developed a way to prop up a struggling immune system to enable its fight against sepsis, a deadly condition resulting from the body's extreme reaction to infection. This work combined two primary types of technology: using vitamins as the main component in making lipid nanoparticles, and using those nanoparticles to capitalize on natural cell processes in the creation of a new antibacterial drug.

Researchers at The Ohio State University have developed a way to prop up a struggling immune system to enable its fight against sepsis, a deadly condition resulting from the body's extreme reaction to infection. This work combined two primary types of technology: using vitamins as the main component in making lipid nanoparticles, and using those nanoparticles to capitalize on natural cell processes in the creation of a new antibacterial drug.