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Future nanomanufacturing processes will rely on two basic principles: a combination of chemical synthesis and self-assembly on one hand and robotic nanofabrication on the other. While the former is a controlled ‘natural’ process relying on chemistry and self-organization principles of nature (read more: How falling spaghettis could lead to more complex nanotechnology self-assembly), the latter will be an industrial process similar in concept to today’s automated manufacturing assembly lines.

Micromanufacturing

Continue reading ‘A Gripping Tale for Nanomanufacturing’ »

Lab-on-a-Chip

Color coding: This prototype of a new paper diagnostic test from Harvard University analyzes the glucose (left well) and protein (right well) content of urine; the top well is a control for the glucose assay. The beige part of the test paper has been treated with a hydrophobic polymer that channels the liquid into the wells. In this test, the paper was dipped in an artificial urine solution that contained glucose and a protein extracted from cow blood.

By taking advantage of the natural movement of liquid through paper, researchers at Harvard’s Whitesides Research Group may have found a way to make microfluidics technology much cheaper. The result could be disposable diagnostic tests simple and abundant enough for use in the developing world.

The field of microfluidics deals with the precise manipulation of tiny quantities of liquid. One of its most promising applications is the so-called lab-on-a-chip, which can work with much smaller fluid samples than larger devices require, potentially allowing for more portable diagnostic tools. But existing microfluidic chips are generally made from comparatively expensive materials like silicon, glass, or plastic and have tiny pumps and valves that can be difficult to manufacture.

Continue reading ‘Lab-on-a-Chip Made of Paper’ »

The same nanotech approaches being explored to deliver drugs exactly to the cells where they are needed also provide a technology base that might lead to permanent enhancements of human metabolism. Excerpts from “Cell ‘organs’ get plastic upgrades“, by Tamsin Osborne at NewScientist.com news service:

Human cells could have their metabolisms upgraded without altering their genes by inserting tiny plastic packages of enzymes, Swiss researchers have shown. They hope the technique could allow advanced cancer therapies, or even upgrade a person’s metabolism.

 

Continue reading ‘Artificial organelles: nanotechnology beyond simple drug delivery’ »

A major advantage of nanotech drug delivery is that multiple drug molecules can be combined on one nanoparticle so that one nanoparticle binds more strongly to the drug target than would the isolated drug molecules. Attaching 12 molecules of an HIV drug to a 2.0 nm diameter gold nanoparticle enabled the drug to prevent HIV infection in cultured patient cells. From a North Caroline State University News Release
“Failed HIV Drug Gets Second Chance with Addition of Gold Nanoparticles“:

Researchers at North Carolina State University have discovered that adding tiny bits of gold to a failed HIV drug rekindle the drug’s ability to stop the virus from invading the body’s immune system.

 

Continue reading ‘Nanotechnology combines multiple molecules of drug to prevent HIV infection’ »

We encounter valves every day, whether in the water faucet, the carburetor in our car, or our bicycle tire tube. Valves are also present in the world of nanotechno. A team of researchers headed by J. Fraser Stoddart and Jeffrey I. Zink at the University of California, Los Angeles, has now developed a new nanovalve. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, the scientists reveal what is special about it: In contrast to prior versions, which only function in organic solvents, this valve operates in an aqueous environment and under physiological conditions—prerequisites for any application as a gate for nanoscopic drug-transport agents, which need to set their cargo free at the right place and time.In order for pharmaceuticals to affect only the target diseased organ, suitable nanopackaging is required to bring the drug to the target area and release it only there. One example of a good nanoscopic packaging agent is a tiny sphere of porous silica. Its pores can be filled with the drug and closed with tiny controllable valves.

The scientists attached stem-shaped molecules onto the surface of the porous spheres and filled the pores with guest molecules. At neutral to acidic pH values, they stacked cucurbituril molecules onto these “stems”. Cucurbituril is a fat, ring-shaped molecule reminiscent of a pumpkin that has both ends hollowed out. The resulting supramolecular structure, which resembles a skewered pumpkin and is known to chemists as a pseudorotaxane, blocks the pores, so that the guest molecules cannot exit. The nanovalve is closed.

If the pH value is raised into the basic range, however, the interaction between the “pumpkins” and the “skewers” is weakened, and the pumpkins come off, opening the pores. Now the valves are open and the guest molecules can exit.

Continue reading ‘Switchable nanovalves pH-sensitive pseudorotaxane as reversible gate for drug nanotransporter’ »

Ravi S. Kane, professor of chemical and biological engineering video.

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a new way to seek out specific proteins, including dangerous proteins such as anthrax toxin, and render them harmless using nothing but light. The technique lends itself to the creation of new antibacterial and antimicrobial films to help curb the spread of germs, and also holds promise for new methods of seeking out and killing tumors in the human body.Scientists have long been interested in wrapping proteins around carbon nanotubes, and the process is used for various applications in imaging, biosensing, and cellular delivery. But this new study at Rensselaer is the first to remotely control the activity of these conjugated nanotubes. Details of the project are outlined in the article “Nanotube-Assisted Protein Deactivation” in the December issue of Nature Nanotechnology.

A team of Rensselaer researchers led by Ravi S. Kane, professor of chemical and biological engineering, has worked for nearly a year to develop a means to remotely deactivate protein-wrapped carbon nanotubes by exposing them to invisible and near-infrared light. The group demonstrated this method by successfully deactivating anthrax toxin and other proteins.

Continue reading ‘Using Carbon Nanotubes To Seek and Destroy Anthrax Toxin and Other Harmful Proteins’ »

Medtronic just received FDA clearance for its new physician-use continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system dubbed iPro. Its smaller and lighter than other models of its type.

Patients wear the CGMS iPro Recorder for three days, after which physicians can review the data and use the results to uncover glucose patterns and optimize patient therapy. Based on the detailed glycemic profiles collected from the CGMS iPro Recorder, physicians can better tailor diabetes treatment programs for each patient. This may be particularly helpful for patients who experience inconsistent high and low glucose levels, who experience hypoglycemia unawareness and who generally desire better control, as well as for women with gestational diabetes and pregnant women with diabetes…The CGMS iPro Recorder is attached to a tiny glucose sensor inserted just under the skin. During the course of three days, the recorder automatically measures and stores glucose values during daily activities like work, sleep, eating, and exercise. After the recording period is completed, the patient returns to the physician’s office where the device is removed and downloaded. The physician can then generate and interpret detailed glucose reports to determine changes to the patient’s therapy…

Continue reading ‘iPro Continuous Glucose Monitor Approved’ »

The molecular machinery behind gene transcription — the intricate transfer of information from a segment of DNA to a corresponding strand of messenger RNA — isn’t stationed in special “transcription factories” within a cell nucleus, according to Cornell researchers. Instead, the enzyme RNA polymerase II (Pol II) and other key molecules can assemble at the site of an activated gene, regardless of the gene’s position.

The findings, published recently in the journal Molecular Cell, are the result of an ongoing collaboration between the laboratories of John T. Lis, the Barbara McClintock Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics, and Watt W. Webb, professor of applied physics and the S.B. Eckert Professor in Engineering. Jie Yao, the paper’s lead author, recently finished his Ph.D. at Cornell under Webb.

Watching genes turn on: Multiphoton microscopy images of living cells show the transcriptional activation of heat shock loci in real time.Using multiphoton microscopy, a technique developed by Webb that allows high-precision 3D imaging in living cells, the researchers observed polytene chromosomes — giant, multistranded chromosomes in the salivary gland tissue of fruit flies that have hundreds of sets of the genome instead of the usual two sets in conventional cells.They activated heat shock genes, which protect cells from sudden rises in temperature, and watched them in real time as they began to be transcribed. The researchers also tagged Pol II with a fluorescent marker to track its movements within the nucleus.

Continue reading ‘Research Sheds Light On The Mechanics Of Gene Transcription’ »