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Therapeutic nanoparticles give new meaning to sugar-coating medicine
September 23, 2009A research team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) studying sugar-coated nanoparticles for use as a possible cancer therapy has uncovered a delicate balancing act that makes the particles more effective than conventional thinking says they should be. Just like individuals in a crowd respecting other people's personal space, the particles work because they get close together, but not too close.
In cooperation with colleagues at The Johns Hopkins University, Dartmouth College, the University of Manitoba and two biopharmaceutical companies, the NIST team has demonstrated* that the particles-essentially sugar-coated bits of iron oxide, about 100 nanometers wide-are potent cancer killers because they interact with one another in ways that smaller nanoparticles do not. The interactions, thought by many bioengineers to be undesirable, actually help the larger particles heat up better when subjected to an alternating magnetic field. Because this heat destroys cancer cells, the team's findings may help engineers design better particles and treatment methods.
Nanoparticles hold the promise of battling cancer without the damaging side effects of chemotherapy or radiation treatment. Minuscule balls of iron oxide can be coated with sugar molecules making them particularly attractive to resource-hungry cancer cells. Once the particles are injected, cancer cells would then ingest them, and doctors would then be able to apply an alternating magnetic field that causes the iron oxide centers to heat, killing the cancer but leaving surrounding tissue unharmed.
Two biotech companies, Micromod Partikeltechnologie and Aduro BioTech, created particles that showed great potential in treating cancers in mice, and they asked NIST to help understand why it worked so well. "But they sent us particles that were much larger than what the conventional wisdom says they should be," says NIST materials scientist Cindi Dennis. "Larger particles are more strongly magnetic and tend to clump together, which makes them large enough to attract the body's defense systems before they can reach a tumor. The companies' nanoparticles, however, did not have this problem."
Neutron scattering probes at the NIST Center for Neutron Research revealed that the particles' larger iron oxide cores attract one another, but that the sugar coating has fibers extending out, making it resemble a dandelion-and these fibers push against one another when two particles get too close together, making them spring apart and maintain an antibody-defying distance rather than clumping. Moreover, when the particles do get close, the iron oxide centers all rotate together under the influence of a magnetic field, both generating more heat and depositing this heat locally. All these factors helped the nanoparticles destroy breast tumors in three out of four mice after one treatment with no regrowth.
"The push-pull is part of a tug of war that fixes the distance between nanoparticles," Dennis says. "This suggests we can stabilize interacting particles in ways that potentially pay off in the clinic."
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
Two biotech companies, Micromod Partikeltechnologie and Aduro BioTech, created particles that showed great potential in treating cancers in mice, and they asked NIST to help understand why it worked so well. "But they sent us particles that were much larger than what the conventional wisdom says they should be," says NIST materials scientist Cindi Dennis. "Larger particles are more strongly magnetic and tend to clump together, which makes them large enough to attract the body's defense systems before they can reach a tumor. The companies' nanoparticles, however, did not have this problem."
Neutron scattering probes at the NIST Center for Neutron Research revealed that the particles' larger iron oxide cores attract one another, but that the sugar coating has fibers extending out, making it resemble a dandelion-and these fibers push against one another when two particles get too close together, making them spring apart and maintain an antibody-defying distance rather than clumping. Moreover, when the particles do get close, the iron oxide centers all rotate together under the influence of a magnetic field, both generating more heat and depositing this heat locally. All these factors helped the nanoparticles destroy breast tumors in three out of four mice after one treatment with no regrowth.
"The push-pull is part of a tug of war that fixes the distance between nanoparticles," Dennis says. "This suggests we can stabilize interacting particles in ways that potentially pay off in the clinic."
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
Nanoparticles Current Events and Nanoparticles News RSSSweet -- sugared polymer a new weapon against allergies and asthma
Scientists at Johns Hopkins and their colleagues have developed sugar-coated polymer strands that selectively kill off cells involved in triggering aggressive allergy and asthma attacks.
Small nanoparticles bring big improvement to medical imaging
If you're watching the complex processes in a living cell, it is easy to miss something important-especially if you are watching changes that take a long time to unfold and require high-spatial-resolution imaging.
Nanotech in Space: Rensselaer Experiment To Weather the Trials of Orbit
Novel nanomaterials developed at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are scheduled to blast off into orbit on November 16 aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis.
Behavior modification could ease concerns about nanoparticles
In an advance that could help ease health and environmental concerns about the emerging nanotechnology industry, scientists are reporting development of technology for changing the behavior of nanoparticles in municipal sewage treatment plants - their main gateway into the environment.
Engineers image nanostructure of a solid acid catalyst and boost its catalytic activity
The catalytic processes that facilitate the production of many chemicals and fuels could become much more environmentally friendly thanks to a breakthrough achieved by researchers from Lehigh and Rice Universities.
Findings show nanomedicine promising for treating spinal cord injuries
Researchers at Purdue University have discovered a new approach for repairing damaged nerve fibers in spinal cord injuries using nano-spheres that could be injected into the blood shortly after an accident.
Chemists describe solar energy progress and challenges, including the 'artificial leaf'
Scientists are making progress toward development of an "artificial leaf" that mimics a real leaf's chemical magic with photosynthesis - but instead converts sunlight and water into a liquid fuel such as methanol for cars and trucks.
Magnetic nanoparticles to simultaneously diagnose, monitor and treat
Whether it's magnetic nanoparticles (mNPs) giving an army of 'therapeutically armed' white blood cells direction to invade a deadly tumour's territory, or the use of mNPs to target specific nerve channels and induce nerve-led behaviour (such as the life-dependant thumping of our hearts), mNPs have come a long way in the past decade.
An exquisite container
In campy old movies, Lucretia Borgia swans around emptying powder from her ring into wine glasses carelessly left unattended. The poison ring is usually a confection of gold filigree holding a cabochon or faceted gemstone that can be broken to empty the ring's contents. It is invariably enormous - so large it is rather odd nobody seems to notice it.
Hard Rain: Pitt-led Researchers Create Nano-Particle Coating to Prevent Freezing Rain Buildup on Roads, Power Lines
Preventing the havoc wrought when freezing rain collects on roads, power lines, and aircrafts could be only a few nanometers away.
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