Biomedical

Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Universitat Jaume I in Castellón, Spain, have figured out why the membranes that enclose our cells can push away nanoparticles that approach them. The researchers discovered that this repulsion – which notably affects neutral, uncharged nanoparticles – happens in part because smaller, charged molecules the electric field attracts crowd the membrane and push away the larger nanoparticles.

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania have developed a model that uses lipid nanoparticles to deliver messenger RNA (mRNA) through the blood-brain barrier, offering new hope for treating conditions like Alzheimer's disease and seizures. The blood-brain barrier is a selective, semi-permeable membrane between the blood and the brain that blocks the passage of certain substances, including therapeutic drugs.

Researchers from the University of Miami, Missouri University of Science and Technology, and Cleveland State University have treated a chromium-containing nanoscale metal-organic framework to expand its pore size and surface area. The puffed-up metal-organic framework, created by the addition of concentrated acetic acid, held more ibuprofen or a chemotherapy drug than the original version and showed improved performance as a potential drug-delivery vehicle. 

Using a DNA-based nanoparticle carrying viral proteins, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (including the MIT Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies), the Ragon Institute (of Massachusetts General Hospital, MIT, and Harvard University), and Washington University School of Medicine have created a vaccine that provokes a strong antibody response against SARS-CoV-2. The vaccine, which has been tested in mice, consists of a DNA nanoparticle that carries many copies of a viral antigen.

Researchers from the University of California, Riverside, have found a way to rein in a protein responsible for making the majority of human cancer cases worse. What the researchers discovered is a peptide compound that binds to the protein and suppresses its activity. To deliver this peptide into cells, the researchers used lipid nanoparticles.

Using a new technology developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, diagnosing lung cancer could become as easy as inhaling nanoparticle sensors and then taking a urine test that reveals whether a tumor is present. The technology is based on nanosensors, which can be delivered by an inhaler or a nebulizer. If the nanosensors encounter cancer-linked proteins in the lungs, they produce a signal that accumulates in the urine, where it can be detected with a simple paper test strip.

Researchers at the University of California San Diego have developed a neural implant that provides information about activity deep inside the brain while sitting on its surface. The implant is made up of a thin, transparent, and flexible polymer strip that is packed with a dense array of graphene electrodes. The technology, tested in transgenic mice, brings the researchers a step closer to building a minimally invasive brain-computer interface that provides high-resolution data about deep neural activity by using recordings from the brain’s surface.

Northwestern University researchers have developed the first selective therapy to prevent allergic reactions, which can range in severity from itchy hives and watery eyes to trouble breathing, and even death. To develop the new therapy, researchers decorated nanoparticles with antibodies capable of shutting down specific immune cells responsible for allergic responses. The nanoparticle also carries an allergen that corresponds to the patient's specific allergy. If a person is allergic to peanuts, for example, then the nanoparticle carries a peanut protein.

An interdisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has developed nanoparticles that can selectively bind to brain cells that mediate inflammation in Alzheimer's disease. The researchers found that both Alzheimer's disease and aging strongly affect the ability of nanoparticles to cross the blood-brain barrier – a network of blood vessels surrounding the brain that tightly regulate which molecules can enter the brain. The researchers injected the nanoparticles into both older and younger mice that either had Alzheimer's disease or were healthy.

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed a battery-independent fluorescent nanosensor based on single-wall carbon nanotubes and an inactive form of an enzyme called glucose oxidase. This nanosensor enables the continuous, reversible, and non-invasive bioimaging of glucose levels in body fluids and tissues. Also, the use of inactive glucose oxidase molecules has major advantages. For example, the manufacturing process of the nanosensors can be simplified, and no toxic byproducts are created.