Showing Spotlights 409 - 416 of 556 in category All (newest first):
In previous Spotlights we have addressed the numerous benefits that nanotechnology materials and applications could bring to the field of neural engineering and neural prostheses. Different biomedical devices implanted in the central nervous system, so-called neural interfaces, already have been developed to control motor disorders or to translate willful brain processes into specific actions by the control of external devices. Examples of existing brain implants include brain pacemakers, to ease the symptoms of such diseases as epilepsy, Parkinson's Disease, dystonia and recently depression; retinal implants that consist of an array of electrodes implanted on the back of the retina, a digital camera worn on the user's body, and a transmitter/image processor that converts the image to electrical signals sent to the brain. As promising as these new devices are, the reliability and robustness of neural interfaces is a major challenge due to the way brain tissue responds to the implant.
Mar 12th, 2009
In the quest to make bone, joint and tooth implants almost as good as nature's own version, scientists are turning to nanotechnology. Researchers have found that the response of host organisms to nanomaterials is different than that observed to conventional materials. While this new field of nanomedical implants is in its very early stage, it holds the promise of novel and improved implant materials. One recent example is the nanopatterning of metal surfaces that promises to lead to superior medical implants. A multidisciplinary team of scientists have demonstrated that a simple and inexpensive chemical treatment can create nanopatterns on the surface of different implantable metals, such as Titanium, Tantalum, and CrCoMo alloys.
Feb 26th, 2009
One of the many application areas that carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are experimented with is as a drug carrier in nanomedicine. Typically, nanoparticles have been used for drug delivery and it is only recently that carbon nanotubes have gained attention as potential drug delivery vehicles. Current research has shown the ability of CNTs to carry a variety of molecules such as drugs, DNA, proteins, peptides, targeting ligands etc. into cells - which makes them suitable candidates for targeted delivery applications. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) with molecular weight between 1 and 40 kDa is usually used to coat drug or imaging nanocarriers with the purpose of reducing non-specific interactions with cells and thus increasing the nanocarriers circulation time in vivo. However, when PEG in the form of PL-PEG (adsorbing phospholipid-PEG) has been used to functionalize single-walled CNTs, the finding were not consistent, sometimes even contradictory.
Feb 16th, 2009
In a previous Nanotechnology Spotlight, we describe how, in order to develop tomorrow's supermaterials, scientists need to unlock nature's structural design rules, in particular for nanoscopic hierarchical molecular structures, and make them available to engineers. This is only possible through a deep understanding of the structure-property relations in biological materials. There is also a surprising relationship between these material design issues and the understanding (or rather lack thereof) of genetic diseases, where structural changes are due to mutations on the molecular level that lead to changed chemical and mechanical properties, which in turn lead to a malfunction of the protein network under mechanical load. Hierarchical nanostructures - ranging through atomistic, molecular and macroscopic scales - represent universal features of biological protein materials. New work by MIT professor Markus Buehler discusses the role of these structural hierarchies in determining properties of biological materials.
Jan 27th, 2009
Collagen is one of the most essential and plentiful proteins in humans, making up about one quarter of all proteins in the body. It is also a major component of connective tissue such as cartilage, ligaments, tendons, bone and skin. Due to its excellent biocompatibility, biodegradability, and the ease of extraction, purification, and processing, collagen has found use as a versatile biomaterial in numerous medical applications. However, collagen is susceptible to biodegradation and the mechanical stability of native collagen for use in tissue repair is insufficient. In order to slow down the biodegradation rate, researchers have developed numerous chemical cross-linking techniques where individual protein chains are linked with a covalent bond, thereby stabilizing the protein. Scientists have now proposed a novel approach to collagen cross-linking on the basis of gold nanoparticles, opening a path to using collagen as a medium for delivery of drug molecules.
Jan 21st, 2009
Typically, nanoparticles have been used for drug delivery and it has been only recently that carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have gained attention as potential drug delivery vehicles. Carbon nanotubes offer a number of advantages which suggest that they may provide an improved result over nanoparticles. They have a larger inner volume which allows more drug molecules to be encapsulated, and this volume is more easily accessible because the end caps can be easily removed, and they have distinct inner and outer surfaces for functionalization. Current research has shown the ability of CNTs to carry a variety of molecules such as drugs, DNA, proteins, peptides, targeting ligands etc. into cells - which makes them suitable candidates for targeted delivery applications. Despite these advantages, a suitable delivery system has not been developed yet for the targeted delivery of CNTs to specific sites.
A research team from various Canadian and U.S. universities has now demonstrated, for the first time, the design and development of a novel microcapsule carbon nanotube targeted delivery device.
Jan 19th, 2009
Conventional vaccine development is based on the body's successful approach to dealing with viral infections. Unfortunately, standard vaccine technologies are ineffective against some of the most devastating infectious diseases such as HIV. A key role in developing cell-mediated immunity against viruses is played by so-called T-cells, which belong to a group of white blood cells known as lymphocytes. One variant of T-cells (cytotoxic T lymphocytes) directly attacks body cells that are infected with a virus or malignant or abnormal tumor cells. These 'killer' T-cells are called into action by 'helper' T-cells, which also activate other immune cells to produce antibodies. HIV, though, takes over helper T-cells and uses them to replicate itself. A major focus in AIDS research has therefore been the development of a 'T-cell vaccine' that induces T-cell immunity. While it was shown that peptides in blood could effectively stimulate T cell immunity in monkeys, and peptides are considered safe vaccine antigens, proteases in vivo can rapidly degrade peptide-based vaccines and this has limited their utility to date. New research by scientists in Australia represents an important finding for vaccine delivery as it demonstrates a feasible method for protecting biologically active peptides for delivery to antigen presenting cells (APCs).
Jan 13th, 2009
Neural engineering is an emerging discipline that uses engineering techniques to investigate the function and manipulate the behavior of the central or peripheral nervous systems. Neural engineering is highly interdisciplinary and relies on expertise from computational neuroscience, experimental neuroscience, clinical neurology, electrical engineering and signal processing of living neural tissue, and encompasses elements from robotics, computer engineering, neural tissue engineering, materials science, and nanotechnology. In order for neural prostheses to augment or restore damaged or lost functions of the nervous system they need to be able to perform two main functions: stimulate the nervous system and record its activity. To do that, neural engineers have to gain a full understanding of the fundamental mechanisms and subtleties of cell-to-cell signaling via synaptic transmission, and then develop the technologies to replicate these mechanisms with artificial devices and interface them to the neural system at the cellular level. A group of European researchers has now shown that carbon nanotubes may become the ideal material for repairing damaged brain tissue.
Dec 29th, 2008
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