Researchers from Rice University's Laboratory for Nanophotonics (LANP), the radiology department at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center are preparing to test a combined approach for diagnosing and treating pancreatic cancer with a specially engineered nanoparticle.

The five-year, preclinical testing program will be funded by a newly announced $1.8 million grant from the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer program.

A team of researchers lead by Fatih M. Uckun, MD, PhD, of The Saban Research Institute of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles has determined that radiation resistance in leukemia can be overcome by selectively attacking a molecular target known as SYK tyrosine kinase.

Rice University physicist Dmitri Lapotko has demonstrated that plasmonic nanobubbles, generated around gold nanoparticles with a laser pulse, can detect and destroy cancer cells in vivo by creating tiny, shiny vapour bubbles that reveal the cells and selectively explode them.

Two new groundbreaking scientific papers by researchers at UC Santa Barbara demonstrate the synthesis of nanosize biological particles with the potential to fight cancer and other illnesses. The studies introduce new approaches that are considered "green" nanobiotechnology because they use no artificial compounds.

Geospiza and Maryland-based SAIC-Frederick Inc. are collaborating to adapt Geospiza's software platform to a new generation of rapid, high-resolution gene sequencing technology to potentially accelerate cancer research and help develop new treatments.

Scientists from UCLA's California NanoSystems Institute and Korea's Yonsei University have developed an innovative method that enables nanomachines to release drugs inside living cancer cells when activated remotely by an oscillating magnetic field.

TAU researcher develops nano-methods for treating cancer tumours with heat and magnets. Though a valuable weapon against cancerous tumours, radiation therapy often harms healthy tissue as it tries to kill malignant cells. Now, Prof. Israel Gannot of Tel Aviv University's Department of Biomedical Engineering is developing a new way to destroy tumours with fewer side effects and minimal damage to surrounding tissue.

The next time you are stung by a bee, here's some consolation: a toxic protein in bee venom, when altered, significantly improves the effectiveness of liposome-encapsulated drugs or dyes, such as those already used to treat or diagnose cancer. This research, described in the August 2010 print issue of the FASEB Journal, shows how modified melittin may revolutionize treatments for cancer and perhaps other conditions, such as arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and serious infections.

Tiny particles of iron oxide could become tools for simultaneous tumour imaging and treatment, because of their magnetic properties and toxic effects against brain cancer cells. In mice, researchers from Emory University School of Medicine have demonstrated how these particles can deliver antibodies to implanted brain tumours, while enhancing tumor visibility via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Spotting a single cancerous cell that has broken free from a tumour and is traveling through the bloodstream to colonize a new organ might seem like finding a needle in a haystack. But a new imaging technique from the University of Washington is a first step toward making this possible.

Using chemical "nanoblasts" that punch tiny holes in the protective membranes of cells, researchers have demonstrated a new technique for getting therapeutic small molecules, proteins and DNA directly into living cells.

When loaded with an anticancer drug, a delivery system based on a novel material that its creators call a nanosponge is three to five times more effective at reducing tumour growth than direct injection of the same drug. That is the conclusion of a paper published in the journal Cancer Research ("Targeted Nanoparticles That Deliver a Sustained, Specific Release of Paclitaxel to Irradiated Tumors").

 

Starting with simple carbon nanotubes, a team of researchers from the United Kingdom and Spain has developed a sugar-coated nanocapsule that can deliver large doses of radioactivity to tumours. The researchers envision developing a series of nanoscale delivery devices that can target specific organs in the body for radiation therapy or imaging by tinkering with the sugar coating on the nanocapsule.

 

You can teach an old drug new chemotherapy tricks. Northwestern University researchers took a drug therapy proven for blood cancers but ineffective against solid tumors, packaged it with nanotechnology and got it to combat an aggressive type of breast cancer prevalent in young women, particularly young African-American women.

 

New research accepted by the Journal of Molecular Recognition confirms that a revolutionary technology developed at Wake Forest University will slash years off the time it takes to develop drugs – bringing vital new treatments to patients much more quickly

 

Scientists are using the engineering technology behind the creation of high-performance aircraft components to design 3-D models for the replacement of delicate and complex facial bones lost to cancer surgery or trauma.

 

A new system for the controlled delivery of pharmaceutical drugs has been developed by a team of University of Rhode Island chemical engineers using nanoparticles embedded in a liposome that can be triggered by non-invasive electromagnetic fields.

 

Imagine being able to drop a toothpick on the head of one particular person standing among 100,000 people in a stadium. It sounds impossible, yet this degree of precision at the cellular level has been demonstrated by researchers affiliated with the Johns Hopkins University Institute for NanoBioTechnology. Their study was published online in June in Nature Nanotechnology.

 

Available to download now from NANO Magazine, this short guide to nanotechnology gives a basic introduction to nanotechnology and its applications, perfect for anyone who is a newcomer to the nanotech world to grasp the basics fast.

 

The tunable fluorescent nanoparticles known as quantum dots make ideal tools for distinguishing and identifying rare cancer cells in tissue biopsies, Emory and Georgia Tech scientists have demonstrated.