Showing Spotlights 225 - 232 of 556 in category All (newest first):
So far, there have been very few research reports on single electrode materials that enable the simultaneous detection of different metabolites - such as glucose, urea, cholesterol, and triglycerides - in whole blood. Moreover, it is a considerable challenge to integrate all required materials and devices on a single chip to ultimately produce a multiplexing biosensor array. In new work, researchers demonstrate that biosensors based on conducting polymer hydrogels enable the precise and full-range detection of different metabolites in human blood.
Jan 22nd, 2015
Researchers have developed a simple method to thermally ablate highly resistant cancer cells using targeted biodegradable graphene nanoparticles. They found that graphene can convert non-ionizing radio waves - the same that are used in FM radios - into heat energy at microscopic levels. This heat is sufficient to completely destroy proteins and DNA inside individual cancer cells, irrespective of any kinds of resistant mechanisms that drives cancer cells at advanced stages.
Jan 16th, 2015
New findings address the challenges of operating synthetic motors in living organisms through the use of biocompatible motors that are powered by body fluid (acidic stomach environment). As the zinc body of the motor is dissolved by the acid fuel, the motors are self-destroyed, leaving no harmful chemicals behind. The study reports on the distribution, retention, cargo delivery and toxicity profile of zinc/polymer-based microrockets in a mouse stomach.
Jan 15th, 2015
Since diseased cells, such as cancer cells, frequently carry information that distinguishes them from normal cells, accurate probing of these cells is critical for early detection of a disease. Adding to these highly accurate methods for monitoring such alterations in single cells, researchers have now demonstrated a nanoelectromechanical procedure to relate the correlation between the mechanical stimulation of a cell's actin filaments and the electrical activities of ion channels to the cancerous state of the cell.
Dec 17th, 2014
Advanced health monitoring systems and healthcare devices will become an integral part of the Internet of Things. As a harbinger of things to come, nanotechnology researchers have now demonstrated a smart thermal patch which can be used for thermotherapy for pain management in a user interactive way. To fabricate the device, the researchers used CMOS technology to devise a silicon based smart thermal patch which is flexible and stretchable.
Dec 9th, 2014
Studying the complex wiring of neural circuits and identifying the details of how individual neural circuits operate in epilepsy and other neurological disorders requires real-time observation of their locations, firing patterns, and other factors. These observations depend on high-resolution optical imaging and electrophysiological recording. Researchers have now developed a completely transparent graphene microelectrode that allows for simultaneous optical imaging and electrophysiological recordings of neural circuits.
Nov 13th, 2014
The majority of men who undergo radical prostatectomy for the treatment of prostate cancer will suffer from erectile dysfunction due to disruption of the cavernous nerve. This nerve has been identified as responsible for penile erection. The oral erectogenic PDE5 inhibitors like Viagra rely on the functioning of this nerve to provide the initial burst of nitric oxide necessary to initiate an erection. In this condition nanotechnology - in the form of a nanoparticle delivery system - may come to the rescue by targetting useful therapeutics for penile rehabilitation following radical prostatectomy.
Oct 24th, 2014
There is a significant need for new therapeutic approaches to combat diseases such as cancer and viral infections. Using RNA as a therapeutic modality brings to bear an entirely new approach, which not only allows for the construction of uniform scaffolds for attachment of functional entities, but also permits the use of all the different types of functionalities that are inherent in natural RNAs. New research demonstrates that multifunctional RNA nanoparticles with a nanoring design allow the use of different types of functionalities inherent in natural RNAs.
Oct 13th, 2014
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