"Seeing A Bionic Eye on Medicine's Horizon" With Nanomedical Technology

ScienceDaily (Apr. 21, 2010) — Television's Six Million Dollar Man foresaw a future when man and machine would become one. New research at Tel Aviv University is making this futuristic "vision" of bionics a reality.

Prof. Yael Hanein of Tel Aviv University's School of Electrical Engineering has foundational research that may give sight to blind eyes, merging retinal nerves with electrodes to stimulate cell growth. Successful so far in animal models, this research may one day lay the groundwork for retinal implants in people.

But that's a way off, she says. Until then, her half-human, half-machine invention can be used by drug developers investigating new compounds or formulations to treat delicate nerve tissues in the brain. Prof. Hanein's research group published its work recently in the journal Nanotechnology.

The image above shows two rat neuronal cells bound

to a rough carbon nanotube mat. (Credit: AFTAU)

Implanting the idea


"We're working to interface man-made technology with neurons," says Prof. Hanein. "It can be helpful in in vitro and in in vivo applications, and provides an understanding of how neurons work so we can build better devices and drugs," she says.


She's developed a spaghetti like mass of nano-sized (one-millionth of a millimetre) carbon tubes, and using an electric current has managed to coax living neurons from the brains of rats to grow on this man-made structure. The growth of living cells on the nano substrate is a very complicated process, she says, but they adhere well to the structure, fusing with the synthetic electrical and physical interface. Using the new technology developed in Prof. Hanein's laboratory, her graduate student Mark Shein has been observing how neurons communicate and work together.

"We are attempting to answer very basic questions in science," Prof. Hanein explains. "Neurons migrate and assemble themselves, and using approaches we've developed, we are now able to 'listen' to the way the neurons fire and communicate with one another using electrical impulses. Listening to neurons 'talking' allows us to answer the most basic questions of how groups of nerves work together. If we can investigate functional neuronal networks in the lab, we can study what can't be seen or heard in the complete brain, where there are too many signals in one place."


Paging Steve Austin


One application of Prof. Hanein's research is a new approach to aid people with retinal degeneration diseases. There are several retinal diseases which are incurable, such as retinitis pigmentosa, and some researchers are investigating a prosthetic device which could replace the damaged cells.

"Neurons like to form good links with our special nanotechnology, and we're now investigating applications for retinal implants," says Prof. Hanein. "Our retinal implant attempts to replace activity in places of the damaged cells, and in the case of retinal diseases, the damaged photoreceptors."

The team's major breakthrough is creating these man-made living "devices" on a flexible nano-material suited for the small area in the eye where new neuron connection growth would be needed. This is the first step in a long clinical process that may lead to improved vision ― and perhaps, one day, a real-life six million dollar man.

- From http://www.sciencedaily.com/.
For the original article, visit http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100322143221.htm

Carbon Nanostructures: Elixir or Poison?

ScienceDaily (Apr. 1, 2010) — A Los Alamos National Laboratory toxicologist and a multidisciplinary team of researchers have documented potential cellular damage from "fullerenes" -- soccer-ball-shaped, cage-like molecules composed of 60 carbon atoms. The team also noted that this particular type of damage might hold hope for treatment of Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, or even cancer.

The research recently appeared in Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology and represents the first-ever observation of this kind for spherical fullerenes, also known as buckyballs, which take their names from the late Buckminster Fuller because they resemble the geodesic dome concept that he popularized.

Engineered carbon nanoparticles, which include fullerenes, are increasing in use worldwide. Each buckyball is a skeletal cage of carbon about the size of a virus. They show potential for creating stronger, lighter structures or acting as tiny delivery mechanisms for designer drugs or antibiotics, among other uses. About four to five tons of carbon nanoparticles are manufactured annually.

"Nanomaterials are the 21st century revolution," said Los Alamos toxicologist Rashi Iyer, the principal research lead and coauthor of the paper. "We are going to have to live with them and deal with them, and the question becomes, 'How are we going to maximize our use of these materials and minimize their impact on us and the environment?'"

Iyer and lead author Jun Gao, also a Los Alamos toxicologist, exposed cultured human skin cells to several distinct types of buckyballs. The differences in the buckyballs lay in the spatial arrangement of short branches of molecules coming off of the main buckyball structure. One buckyball variation, called the "tris" configuration, had three molecular branches off the main structure on one hemisphere; another variation, called the "hexa" configuration, had six branches off the main structure in a roughly symmetrical arrangement; the last type was a plain buckyball.

The researchers found that cells exposed to the tris configuration underwent premature senescence -- what might be described as a state of suspended animation. In other words, the cells did not die as cells normally should, nor did they divide or grow. This arrest of the natural cellular life cycle after exposure to the tris-configured buckyballs may compromise normal organ development, leading to disease within a living organism. In short, the tris buckyballs were toxic to human skin cells.

Moreover, the cells exposed to the tris arrangement caused unique molecular level responses suggesting that tris-fullerenes may potentially interfere with normal immune responses induced by viruses. The team is now pursuing research to determine if cells exposed to this form of fullerenes may be more susceptible to viral infections.

Ironically, the discovery could also lead to a novel treatment strategy for combating several debilitating diseases. In diseases like Parkinson's or Alzheimer's, nerve cells die or degenerate to a nonfunctional state. A mechanism to induce senescence in specific nerve cells could delay or eliminate onset of the diseases. Similarly, a disease like cancer, which spreads and thrives through unregulated replication of cancer cells, might be fought through induced senescence. This strategy could stop the cells from dividing and provide doctors with more time to kill the abnormal cells.

Because of the minute size of nanomaterials, the primary hazard associated with them has been potential inhalation -- similar to the concern over asbestos exposure.

"Already, from a toxicological point of view, this research is useful because it shows that if you have the choice to use a tris- or a hexa-arrangement for an application involving buckyballs, the hexa-arrangement is probably the better choice," said Iyer. "These studies may provide guidance for new nanomaterial design and development."

These results were offshoots from a study (Shreve, Wang, and Iyer) funded to understand the interactions between buckyballs and biological membranes. Los Alamos National Laboratory has taken a proactive role by initiating a nanomaterial bioassessmnet program with the intention of keeping its nanomaterial workers safe while facilitating the discovery of high-function, low-bioimpact nanomaterials with the potential to benefit national security missions. In addition to Gao and Iyer, the LANL program includes Jennifer Hollingsworth, Yi Jiang, Jian Song, Paul Welch, Hsing Lin Wang, Srinivas Iyer, and Gabriel Montaño.

Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers will continue to attempt to understand the potential effects of exposure to nanomaterials in much the same way that Los Alamos was a worldwide leader in understanding the effects of radiation during the Lab's early history. Los Alamos workers using nanomaterials will continue to follow protocols that provide the highest degree of protection from potential exposure.

Meantime, Los Alamos research into nanomaterials provides a cautionary tale for nanomaterial use, as well as early foundations for worker protection. Right now, there are no federal regulations for the use of nanomaterials. Disclosure of use by companies or individuals is voluntary. As nanomaterial use increases, understanding of their potential hazards should also increase.

~ Taken from http://www.sciencedaily.com/

The article can also be accessed at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100331151146.htm

(Please Ignore this Post)

A Revolution in the Battle Against Cancer!!!!

Nanotech cancer treatment shown to work in humans

Nanotechnology has been generating a lot of excitement in the cancer research community. Scientists at institutions worldwide have gotten involved in looking at how tiny particles, specially designed to target cancer in the body and treat it, might work better than taking a regular drug. That's because targeted therapies would not harm healthy cells, reducing the toxic side effects seen in chemotherapy drugs.

After decades of work in animal models, there is now evidence that the approach works in humans. A paper published Sunday in the journal Nature shows that nanoparticles can successfully home to proteins associated with cancer progression, deliver medication, and turn off those proteins.


This is the first study to show that this particular method, using a mechanism called RNA interference, works in humans, said Gayle Woloschak, professor of radiology, and cell and molecular biology, at Northwestern University, who was not involved in the study.


But the study, led by Mark Davis at California Institute of Technology, is preliminary. It looked at three patients with melanoma, a form of skin cancer. Because only one of the patients consented to the biopsies due to all of the analysis, the researchers have conclusive evidence that the therapy – and not any previous treatment the patient may have had – was responsible for reducing the cancer-related protein in that patient, Davis said.

But the study showed targeting – that the nanoparticles got inside the tumor cells – in all three patients, Davis said. The more nanoparticles sent into the body, the more of these tiny structures get into the tumor cells, he said.


Although this is a small sample of participants, the study is still very important to show how the new technology works in humans, Woloschak said.


Particles used in this study were about 70 nanometers across, smaller than most viruses, Woloschak said. The therapy was injected directly into the patients' bloodstreams.


Researchers also demonstrated that a large number of different materials can be put together by using nanoparticles as scaffolds. This study used a tumor targeting agent and an anti-cancer therapy, but future possibilities include an imaging agent "so that a tumor can be observed as it is progressing through therapy," she said.


Results from the clinical trial associated with Davis' study will be presented at the meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in June.

Largely, the idea of targeted nanoparticles as cancer treatments has been shown to work in animals, but not humans. Last year CNNHealth reported on the buzz on "nanobees," which use this method, as well as other concepts in the works. Read more about that here: http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/08/18/nanotech.cancer.nano.tumors/index.html

~ Taken from Dr. Sanjay Gupta's Blog (CNN)

Nanotech ‘Trojan Horse’ Sneaks Drugs Into Cancer Cells!!

Good things come in small packages, as the saying goes, and nowhere is that more true than in nanotechnology.

Research in the field has recently led to several new strategies for employing nanotechnology in the fight against cancer, and — so far, at least — the results are promising.

Nanotechnology is proving to be a mighty weapon against cancer. Nanotech-based medicines are therapeutic because they can effectively exploit the unique mechanical properties of cancer lesions and treat the various forms of the disease locally, according to biomedical engineer Mauro Ferrari, who says, “we are on the brink of a new era in cancer treatment.”

‘Like a Trojan Horse’

One of the hardest parts of fighting cancer is that drugs often hit healthy cells at least as hard as the cancerous ones, causing patients to get sick. However, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Ovarian Cancer Institute are using nanotechnology to sneak cancer-fighting particles into just the cancer cells, leaving the healthy ones alone.

Their method uses hydrogels — tiny particles less than 100 nanometers in size — to insert a particular type of small interfering RNA(siRNA) into cancer cells. Once in the cell, the siRNA triggers the programmed cell death the body uses to kill mutated cells and helps traditional chemotherapy do its job.

“It’s like a Trojan horse,” explained L. Andrew Lyon, professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Georgia Tech. “We’ve decorated the surface of these hydrogels with a ligand that tricks the cancer cell into taking it up. Once inside, the particles have a slow release profile that leaks out the siRNA over a timescale of days, allowing it to have a therapeutic effect.”


A research paper describing the approach was published last month in BMC Cancer.

href="http://altfarm.mediaplex.com/ad/ck/9966-93028-7758-3?mpt=12665817171161&mpvc=http://www.ectnews.com/adsys/link/%3Fcreative%3d6455%26ENN_rnd%3d12665817171161%26ENN_target="> src=http://altfarm.mediaplex.com/ad/bn/9966-93028-7758-3?mpt=12665817171161
alt="Click Here" border="0" />

Helping Chemotherapy Do Its Job

Many cancers are characterized by an overabundance of epidermal growth factor receptors, or EGFR, and a reduction in apoptosis, or programmed cell death.

Traditional chemotherapy agents often work by damaging cells to induce apoptosis, but the overabundance of EGFR makes many cancer cells resistant to such approaches, explained John McDonald, professor in Georgia Tech’s School of Biology and chief research scientist at the Ovarian Cancer Institute.

Small interfering RNA is good at shutting down EGFR production, but once inside the cell it has a limited life span. The hydrogel nanoparticles release only a small amount of siRNA at a time, ensuring that while some are out in the cancer cell doing their job, reinforcements are held safely inside the nanoparticle until it’s their turn.

“We have shown that we can target siRNA against EGFR specifically to ovarian cancer cells resulting in knock-down of EGFR expression and thereby making the cancer cells extremely sensitive to traditional chemotherapy treatments like taxanes,” McDonald told TechNewsWorld.

‘Package, Protect and Deliver’

In other words, when the researchers’ hydrogel “nanosponges” are used to deliver RNA that interferes with the cell’s ability to produce certain proteins, “the cell becomes much more susceptible to traditional chemotherapeutic drugs,” Lyon told TechNewsWorld. “In this way, we hope to increase the effectiveness of cancer treatments, perhaps even solving problems associated with drug-resistant cancers.”

Without nanotechnology, it is very difficult to get RNA into a cell in an active and functional form, Lyon pointed out.

“The nanosized hydrogels offer the ability to package, protect, and precisely deliver a very delicate cargo such as RNA,” he explained. “Additionally, the [approximately] 100 nm size of these nanogels is likely to permit good blood circulation and tumor localization.”

The researchers’ tests have already been shown to work in vitro, so tests in vivo are scheduled to begin soon.

Magnetic Nanoparticles

Researchers at Georgia Tech, including McDonald, have been using nanotechnology to attack cancer in another context as well.

In this case, it’s magnetic nanoparticles they’re using, and their approach targets the free-floating cancer cells that can cause ovarian cancer metastases.

“Most metastasis of ovarian cancer occurs by cancer cells falling off the primary tumor and spreading to the liver and other internal organs,” McDonald explained. “We hope that our magnetic nanoparticle system may be able to significantly reduce ovarian cancer metastasis.”


‘The Brink of a New Era’

In general, such nanotech-based medicines are therapeutic because they can effectively exploit the unique mechanical properties of cancer lesions and treat the various forms of the disease locally, according to Mauro Ferrari, professor and chairman of the department of nanomedicine and biomedical engineering at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

Ferrari and his team have designed nanoparticles called “multi-stage vectors” that also offer great promise in targeting individual cancer cells.
“The level of specificity that can be achieved through the use of the conceptual model of cancer as a mechanical disease — and through the power of the mechanical engineering design process — will result in greater therapeutic efficacy with reduced side effects,” he explains in a forthcoming article, titled “Infernal Mechanism,” that will appear in the March 2010 edition of Mechanical Engineering.

In other words, he concluded, “we are on the brink of a new era in cancer treatment.”

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Nanotech-Trojan-Horse-Sneaks-Drugs-Into-Cancer-Cells-69361.html

~ from the Scientific American Nanotechnology Blog

Test Post