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Nanosponge drug delivery claimed to work better than direct injection on tumors
By Jude Garvey
10:19 June 17, 2010
Recent research suggest that a novel material called nanosponge could be up to five times more effective at reducing tumor growth than direct injection. The drug delivery system is likened to filling virus-sized sponges with an anti-cancer drug and attaching chemical linkers that bond to a feature of the surface of tumor cell and then injecting the sponges into the body. When the sponges come into contact with a tumor cell they either attach to the surface or are sucked into the cell where they offload their deadly contents in a predictable and controlled manner. Read More
Researchers at Houston’s Rice University have developed a method for making bundles of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) dubbed “odako”. Eventually, the method may realize meter-long strands of nanotubes that are no wider than a piece of DNA which could be used in lightweight, super-efficient power-transmission lines, in ultra-strong and lightning-resistant materials for airplanes, and may also prove useful in batteries, fuel cells and microelectronics. Read More
Nanomaterials less than 100-thousand-millionths of a meter in size have the potential to radically change current drug delivery techniques with early trials showing the ability of nanomaterials to moderate the release of highly toxic chemotherapy drugs with reduced side effects and improved targeting. Using nanodiamonds, researchers at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science have demonstrated a new tool designed to precisely deliver tiny doses of drug-carrying to individual cells - the Nanofountain Probe. Read More
