Magnetic Resonance Imaging testing stands to benefit from Nanotechnology

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Nanotechnology can be deployed in the arena of MRI too. IBM researchers have combined MRI with the accuracy of atomic force microscopes and created sixty thousand times small MRI images as compared to the traditional MRI where the nanometer resolution achieved was ninety which is ten times bigger as compared to the typical molecule. The researchers came up with a latest atomic force microscope probe and coupled it with high magnetic layers of cobalt, iron and rubidium. These magnetic tips are responsible for converting atomic force microscopes into little MRI machines. The advantage of this is that the magnetic resonance force microscope just requires around thousand atom spin in their tiny sample and hence can watch till a depth of forty nanometers in samples. The researchers even have a plan of increasing the resolution of the device by ten times which could help in looking into the molecules as they undergo chemical reactions. This will surely help the medical field and make their job easier. Image Via: usatoday

Now nanowire coating for effective, inexpensive bone implants and stents

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If you are one of those who will soon require either a hip replacement, dental reconstruction or vascular stenting, here is ‘nanotechnology’ to your rescue. Yes, this is yet another introduction of nanotechnology in the field of medical sciences. Scientists have designed an effective nanowire coating for creating more effective surfaces for such medical replacements or reconstructions. They have created this coating on biocompatible titanium surface. What is of your interest is its creating process being cost-effective. And, for the manufacturers, the process of designing it is simpler in comparison to the existing methods. For developing the titanium oxide-based ceramic nanowires, researchers used an alkali and heat, used for effectively coating the surface of a titanium medical device. By simply varying the time, temperature and the concentration of alkali in the reaction, the length, height, the pore openings and their volumes can be controlled within the nanowire scaffolds – that’s amazing! Importantly, adding on to its inexpensiveness and simpler designing, the new process is also extremely sustainable, as claimed by Z. Ryan Tian, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. What is required is just a rinse of the device in reusable water, following the heating process. So, next time you require any such medical replacement and reconstruction, resort to the new ‘inexpensive’ nanowire-coating magic. Image Courtesy: Z. Ryan Tian

Taiwan trains to counter odor and dust with nanotechnology

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Next time you board a train in Taiwan you won’t have to face any bad odor or dust as the Taiwan Railway Administration or TRA is implementing nanotechnology in its trains to combat all these problems. The technology will be implemented on Taroko Express which will travel between Taipei and Hualien. People traveling on Taroko Express will no longer have to encounter bad smell in the restrooms aboard the train. Around $84.84 million have been invested in this train which would also bring down the journey time. Industrial Technology Research Institute has used nanotechnology for sterilizing the restroom of the train and cleaning its glass windows. Dust-fighting coating material will be used for preventing dust from getting deposited on the glass and results have shown that the amount of dust came down by half. Later on this technology will be used in other trains too. Image Via: cna

Nanocylinders can improve drug delivery to cancer patients

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University of Pennsylvania researchers have found out that by using a cylindrical shaped carrier drugs can be delivered in a better manner to an animal model of lung cancer for a duration which is ten times longer as compared to what can be achieved using spherical shaped carriers. The study will lead to an improvement in the drug delivery coupled with a better understanding of the cylinder shaped viruses such as H5N1 and Ebola. In this case since the blood stream is constantly pumping blood the cylindrical nanoparticles line up with the flow and persist in circulation for a longer period of time as compared to any known spherical particles. Cylindrical nanoparticles were used which comprised of synthetic polymers for delivering paclitaxel which is an anticancer drug to a human lung tumor tissue implanted in the mice. Nanoparticles comprising of chain of polymer called polyethyleneglycol was used for this purpose. This study is expected to impact the treatment of lung cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Via nanowerk

Nanotechnology can be used for treatment of spinal cord injuries and paralysis

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It is being said that nanotechnology could prove effective in treatment of spinal cord injuries and also reverse paralysis. This would be possible as nanotechnology could help in repair of damaged organs and tissues. There is a very good chance that nanotechnology could prove vital in the treatment of diseases such as Parkinson’s disease or heart attacks or even diabetes. With the aid of injection of molecules which have been designed for self assembling into nanostructures in the spinal tissue it has become possible to rescue and re grow rapidly damaged neurons. The research has already been published in science magazines and the latest findings on reversing paralysis have been also been reviewed for publication. The clinical trials for spinal cord treatment are expected to begin within a few years. There is unlikely to be any side effects since the materials used are those which one consumes during breakfast. An approval from FDA would be required before nanotechnology is applied for medical applications. Image Via rawstory

Now nanoparticle-injections to ease soldiers’ pain in the battlefield

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Nanotechnology, creeping into almost all fields of science is now showing its magical powers at the service of the soldiers. Injured at the battle fields, most soldiers have remote chances to avail immediate medical assistance, mostly because of their inability to be carried to difficult terrains. So, now nanotechnology has gifted the war-zones with ‘easily supply-able’ super-small nanoparticle-painkillers that can be delivered to injured soldiers – thanks to a team of impertinent University of Michigan-researchers. For the cause, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has granted them with a $1.3 million grant for conducting the study. The researchers are up with arms developing tiny painkiller-bearing particles, which can be injected into injured soldiers’ comrades or even injured soldiers themselves on the battlefield straightaway. To inject it, a pen-like device will be used which would provide both safe as well as, importantly, effective pain relief especially when no immediate expert medical help can be extended to a wounded soldier. Research team leader James R. Baker Jr. said, This proposal provides an approach to achieve sustained, safe pain control on the battlefield. Since, painkiller-morphine can cause breathing problems and needs careful monitoring, the new application of nanotechnology will thus, importantly, be used in controlling the morphine’s release over extended periods. Soldiers, get ready for a nanoparticle-injection before heading for the battlefield in the near-future. Image

U.S. researchers develop novel nanoparticles for effective drugs transportation

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These unique nanoparticles would surely do good to the world of medicine. Researchers from U.S. have developed novel nanoparticles which can be used for sending medicines deep inside the lungs and penetrate cancer cells without affecting the normal cells. The technique has been developed by Princeton University researchers and these nanoparticles are thousand times thinner than a strand of human hair and can be loaded with imaging enhancing agents or medicines. The technique is called Flash NanoPrecipitation and it enables researchers to mix drugs and materials to be transported with nanoparticles. Though they are large enough to pass through cell membranes but can surely move through defects in the capillaries of solid tumors. The combination of materials science and chemistry has enabled something concrete which was not possible earlier. The researchers stated that earlier there was no good route for incorporating drugs and imaging agents in nanoparticles but this work will surely go a long way in benefiting the world of medicine. Via sciencedaily

Possible breakthrough cancer cure

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Chemotherapy is the only known cure for cancer today. It involves the use of cytotoxic drugs and is dreaded due to the numerous side effects like nausea, anemia, malnutrition, hair loss etc.Chemotherapy may just become the thing of the past based on some breakthrough research that has been made by a 63-year-old leukemia patient from Florida named John Kanzius. Kanzius has built a device which yet does not have a name. The device is cancer cell generator based on nanotechnology. Nanotechnology, has been called as ‘the manufacturing technology of the 21st century” .It is helping to economically build a broad range of complex molecular machines through which doctors can now intervene in a sophisticated and controlled way at the cellular and molecular level. Kanzius’s method works by a patient first receiving an injection of gold nanoparticles, which would attach themselves to the cancer cells. The patient would then enter the machine and be administered a dose of radio frequency waves, which would heat the nanoparticles and surrounding cancer cells to a temperature high enough to kill the cancer cells, but would leave nearby cells untouched. The machine does not use radiation. Many scientists are using Kanzius’ machine in their research and the most challenging part yet is finding a way to target the cancerous cells with nanoparticles. Kanzius said that he was inspired to investigate the potential of nanotechnology and radio waves after receiving 24 rounds of chemotherapy, and wishing that others–especially children–wouldn’t have to endure the same treatment. Via:Inventorspot Image1

Nanotechnology based molecular nose developed for diagnosing cancer

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How about a molecular nose using nanoparticle based sensors for sniffing and identification of proteins? University of Massachusetts Amherst scientists have gone ahead and developed this nose which can be used for detection of various proteins which can be used for diagnosis of diseases such as cancer. The nose operates in a holistic manner and in this case gold nanoparticles were used which can be easily manipulated. A florescent dye was also added to the sensors in order to figure out which dye was interacting with which protein. Six types of nanoparticles were used for sensing seven types of proteins and a technique was also developed for dealing with different protein concentrations and by using the raw data along with the statistical analysis the proteins were detected with an accuracy of around ninety six percent. It is more reliable and economical as compared to the current technologies being implemented. image Via azonano

Nanotechnology used to trigger ‘plant cell gene-expressions’ precisely

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Nanotechnology, after expanding its horizon in leaps and bounds, has eventually penetrated the world of plant biology, thanks to a team of U.S. scientists. They have used nanotechnology for penetrating the walls of plant cells. With the use of nanotechnology, the experts have delivered a gene and a chemical into the cell walls to precisely trigger the expressions of the genes. This innovation with introducing nanotechnology to plant biology and agricultural biotechnology has helped in creating a powerful tool to target plant cell-deliveries. Though, scientists have already successfully introduced a gene into a plant cell, unlike this new application, in other cases, chemicals are used to just activate the functions of a gene. But, the process is not as precise as the new nanotechnology-based one, and the chemicals could also be toxic to the plant. It is a real breakthrough by the team of Iowa State University researchers. Study leader Professor Kan Wang said, With the mesoporous nanoparticles, we can deliver two biogenic species at the same time. We can bring in a gene and induce it in a controlled manner at the same time and at the same location. That`s never been done before. So, here comes ‘nanotechnology’ to help a more precise gene activation in plant cell as well as trigger their expressions at the same time. Image