Biomedical

Scientists from the University of Utah have found a way to deliver drugs to a specific area of the body by using nanocarriers activated by ultrasound waves. The nanocarriers are minuscule droplets with a hollow outer shell composed of polymer molecules. Within the shell is an inner core of hydrophobic molecules that are mixed with an equally hydrophobic drug of interest. To release the drug, the researchers send ultrasound waves, which are thought to cause the hydrophobic molecules to expand, stretching out the droplet's shell.

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a pill that releases microscopic robots, or microrobots, into the colon to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The experimental treatment, given orally, has shown success in mice. It significantly reduced IBD symptoms and promoted the healing of damaged colon tissue without causing toxic side effects. The microrobots are composed of inflammation-fighting nanoparticles chemically attached to green algae cells.

Researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Northwestern University have developed and tested a new mathematical model to accurately simulate the effects of blood flow on the adhesion and retention of nanoparticle drug carriers. The model closely corresponded to in vitro experiments, demonstrating the impact that model-based simulations can have on nanocarrier optimization. “There have been studies using mouse models and in vitro tissue models,” said Hyunjoon Kong, one of the researchers involved in this study.

Researchers from Drexel University, California State University Northridge, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have provided the first clear look at the chemical structure of the surface of a two-dimensional (2D) material called titanium carbide MXene. MXenes form a family of 2D materials that have shown promise for water desalination, energy storage, and electromagnetic shielding.

Researchers from Rice University and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have developed ultrasmall, stable gas-filled protein nanostructures that could revolutionize ultrasound imaging and drug delivery. These diamond-shaped, 50-nanometer gas vesicles are believed to be the smallest stable, free-floating structures for medical imaging ever created. They can penetrate tissue and reach immune cells in lymph nodes. This discovery opens up new possibilities for imaging and delivering therapies to previously inaccessible cells.

Chemists and bioengineers from Rice University and the University of Houston have developed a novel fabrication process to create aligned nanofiber hydrogels that mimic the aligned structure of muscle and nerve tissues. "Our findings demonstrate that our method can produce aligned peptide nanofibers that effectively guide cell growth in a desired direction," said Adam Farsheed, a scientist who led this research effort. "This is a crucial step toward creating functional biological tissues for regenerative medicine applications."

Researchers at Penn State have made borophene, the atomically thin version of boron, potentially more useful by imparting chirality – or handedness – on it. Chirality refers to similar but not identical physicality, like left and right hands. The researchers found that certain amino acids, like cysteine, would bind to borophene in distinct locations, depending on their chiral handedness. Also, when the chiralized borophene was exposed to mammalian cells in a dish, their handedness changed how they interacted with cell membranes and entered cells.

Researchers at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine have developed a nanoparticle that can penetrate the blood-brain barrier. Their goal is to kill primary breast cancer tumors and brain metastases in one treatment, and their research shows the method can shrink breast and brain tumors in laboratory studies. Brain metastases are tumors that have spread from other parts of the body to the brain. The nanoparticle is coupled with two drugs that take aim at cancer's energy sources.

Researchers from Oregon State University and Funai Microfluidic Systems (Lexington, KY) have developed a novel technique for the aerosolization of inhalable nanoparticles that can be used to carry messenger RNA (mRNA) to the lungs of patients with inherited lung diseases. The findings are important because the current nebulization method for nanoparticles subjects them to shear stress, hindering their ability to encapsulate the genetic material and causing them to aggregate in certain areas of the lungs rather than spread out evenly, the researchers said.

Researchers from the University of California San Diego have shown that an experimental treatment made from a plant virus is effective at protecting against a broad range of metastatic cancers in mice. The treatment, composed of nanoparticles created with cowpea mosaic viruses, suppressed the growth of metastatic tumors across various cancer models, including colon, ovarian, melanoma, and breast cancer. The new study builds upon previous research by the lab of Nicole Steinmetz, a professor of nanoengineering at UC San Diego.