Nanobots and Nanoparticles

[weatheriscool]

Thinking Outside the (Nano)Box: Supersized Nanocages Revolutionize Drug Delivery
https://scitechdaily.com/thinking-outsi ... -delivery/

By University of Cambridge April 10, 2023
Gold Nanocages

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed a super-sized nanocage that can be used to deliver larger drug cargoes, according to an article published in Nature Synthesis. These nanocages, created using a simple building block process inspired by biological systems, have the largest ligand-enclosed inner cavity volume ever made. The larger nanocages have potential applications in drug delivery and biotechnology, and could be used to deliver larger therapeutic biomolecules to specific parts of the body. The research also suggests that the large internal cavities of the nanocages could serve as platforms for binding large biomolecules, which could be useful in drug discovery and development.

Cambridge researchers have developed a super-sized nanocage capable of delivering larger drug cargoes, with potential applications in drug delivery, biotechnology, and drug discovery.

Think about how frustrating it is to try to fit a gift into a box that is too small. Sometimes you just need a bigger box.

[wjfox]

These tiny, medical robots could one day travel through your body

By Daniel Strain • Published: May 24, 2023

A team of engineers at the CU Boulder has designed a new class of tiny, self-propelled robots that can zip through liquid at incredible speeds—and may one day even deliver prescription drugs to hard-to-reach places inside the human body.

The researchers describe their mini healthcare providers in a paper published last month in the journal Small.

“Imagine if microrobots could perform certain tasks in the body, such as non-invasive surgeries,” said Jin Lee, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. “Instead of cutting into the patient, we can simply introduce the robots to the body through a pill or an injection, and they would perform the procedure themselves.”

Lee and his colleagues aren’t there yet, but the new research is big step forward for tiny robots.

The group’s microrobots are really small. Each one measures only 20 micrometers wide, several times smaller than the width of a human hair. They’re also really fast, capable of traveling at speeds of about 3 millimeters per second, or roughly 9,000 times their own length per minute. That’s many times faster than a cheetah in relative terms.

https://www.colorado.edu/today/2023/05/ ... -your-body

[weatheriscool]

Nanoparticle flu vaccine design shows promise in early tests

by The Scripps Research Institute

https://phys.org/news/2023-12-nanoparti ... early.html
Existing flu vaccines provide only limited, seasonal protection because they target highly changeable proteins on the virus. Scripps Research scientists have now designed a vaccine that should work broadly against influenza A strains—one of the two types of flu virus that normally circulate in humans.

The new vaccine design, described in a paper titled "Single-Component Multilayered Self-Assembling Protein Nanoparticles Displaying Extracellular Domains of Matrix Protein 2 as a Pan-influenza A Vaccine" in ACS Nano on November 21, uses a relatively unchanging influenza A protein fragment, M2e, and presents it on self-assembling nanoparticles to better engage the immune system.

The vaccine's strong results in initial animal tests point to the possibility of a universal flu vaccine that provides long-term protection against serious illness from both ordinary and novel flu strains.

"This experimental vaccine has the potential to protect against diverse seasonal influenza A strains as well as future emergent strains that could cause pandemics," says study senior author Jiang Zhu, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology at Scripps Research.

[weatheriscool]

DNA-folding nanorobots can manufacture limitless copies of themselves
By Loz Blain
December 08, 2023
https://newatlas.com/robotics/dna-nanor ... plication/

Researchers have demonstrated a programmable nano-scale robot, made from a few strands of DNA, that's capable of grabbing other snippets of DNA, and positioning them together to manufacture new UV-welded nano-machines – including copies of itself.

The robots, according to New Scientist, are created using just four strands of DNA, and measure just 100 nanometers across, so about a thousand of them could squeeze up into a line the width of a human hair.

The team, from New York University, the Ningbo Cixi Institute of Biomechanical Engineering, and The Chinese Academy of Sciences, says the robots surpass previous efforts, which were only able to assemble pieces into two-dimensional shapes. The new bots are able to use "multiple-axis precise folding and positioning" to "access the third dimension and more degrees of freedom."

These nano-bots are often viewed as potential ways of manufacturing drugs, enzymes and other chemicals, potentially inside the cells of the body. But the researchers specifically call out the fact that these machines can "self-replicate its entire 3D structure and functions."

[wjfox]

Bottled water contains thousands of nanoplastics so small they can invade the body’s cells, study says

Updated 8:32 PM EST, Mon January 8, 2024

In a trailblazing new study, researchers have discovered bottled water sold in stores can contain 10 to 100 times more bits of plastic than previously estimated — nanoparticles so infinitesimally tiny they cannot be seen under a microscope.

At 1,000th the average width of a human hair, nanoplastics are so teeny they can migrate through the tissues of the digestive tract or lungs into the bloodstream, distributing potentially harmful synthetic chemicals throughout the body and into cells, experts say.

One liter of water — the equivalent of two standard-size bottled waters — contained an average of 240,000 plastic particles from seven types of plastics, of which 90% were identified as nanoplastics and the rest were microplastics, according to the new study.

Microplastics are polymer fragments that can range from less than 0.2 inch (5 millimeters) down to 1/25,000th of an inch (1 micrometer). Anything smaller is a nanoplastic that must be measured in billionths of a meter.

[...]

The new finding reinforces long-held expert advice to drink tap water from glass or stainless steel containers to reduce exposure, Mason said. That advice extends to other foods and drinks packaged in plastic as well, she added.

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/01/08/heal ... index.html

[raklian]

Bottled water contains thousands of nanoplastics so small they can invade the body’s cells, study says

Very problematic.

We need to transition to using biodegradable materials for all disposables quickly.

[TrueAnimationFan]

This is why I'm glad we have a refrigerator in our apartment that can give you filtered water from ice. For this reason, I don't think we've ever had to use a plastic water bottle while at home.

[weatheriscool]

Decorated nanoparticles prevent anaphylaxis without causing side effects in mouse study
https://phys.org/news/2024-01-nanoparti ... mouse.html
by Amanda Morris, Northwestern University

Northwestern University researchers have developed the first selective therapy to prevent allergic reactions, which can range in severity from itchy hives and watery eyes to trouble breathing and even death.

To develop the new therapy, researchers decorated nanoparticles with antibodies capable of shutting down specific immune cells (called mast cells) responsible for allergic responses. The nanoparticle also carries an allergen that corresponds to the patient's specific allergy. If a person is allergic to peanuts, for example, then the nanoparticle carries a peanut protein.

In this two-step approach, the allergen engages the precise mast cells responsible for the specific allergy, and then the antibodies shut down only those cells. This highly targeted approach enables the therapy to selectively prevent specific allergies without suppressing the entire immune system.

In a mouse study, the therapy demonstrated 100% success in preventing allergic responses without causing noticeable side effects.

The research is published today (Jan. 16) in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. It marks the first nanotherapy for inhibiting mast cells, thus preventing an allergic response to a specific allergen.

[wjfox]

A single dose of urea-powered nanorobots reduces bladder tumors by 90% in mouse study

January 15, 2024

Bladder cancer has one of the highest incidence rates in the world and ranks as the fourth most common tumor in men. Despite its relatively low mortality rate, nearly half of bladder tumors resurface within 5 years, requiring ongoing patient monitoring. Frequent hospital visits and the need for repeat treatments contribute to making this type of cancer one of the most expensive to cure.

While current treatments involving direct drug administration into the bladder show good survival rates, their therapeutic efficacy remains low. A promising alternative involves the use of nanoparticles capable of delivering therapeutic agents directly to the tumor. In particular, nanorobots—nanoparticles endowed with the ability to self-propel within the body—are noteworthy.

Now, a study published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology reveals how a research team successfully reduced the size of bladder tumors in mice by 90% through a single dose of urea-powered nanorobots.

These tiny nanomachines consist of a porous sphere made of silica. Their surfaces carry various components with specific functions. Among them is the enzyme urease, a protein that reacts with urea found in urine, enabling the nanoparticle to propel itself. Another crucial component is radioactive iodine, a radioisotope commonly used for the localized treatment of tumors.

https://phys.org/news/2024-01-dose-urea ... adder.html



Accumulation of nanorobots in the tumor visualized by microscopy. Credit: IRB Barcelona

[weatheriscool]

Gold nanoclusters offer sustainable solution for wastewater polluted by dyes used in many industries
https://phys.org/news/2024-03-gold-nano ... water.html
by Flinders University

Water pollution from dyes used in textile, food, cosmetic and other manufacturing is a major ecological concern with industry and scientists seeking biocompatible and more sustainable alternatives to protect the environment.

A new study led by Flinders University has discovered a novel way to degrade and potentially remove toxic organic chemicals including azo dyes from wastewater, using a chemical photocatalysis process powered by ultraviolet light.

Professor Gunther Andersson, from the Flinders Institute for NanoScale Science and Technology, says the process involves creating metallic 'clusters' of just nine gold (Au) atoms chemically 'anchored' to titanium dioxide which in turn drives the reaction by converting the energy of absorbed UV light.