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Nanotechnology in the arena of health and science is rapidly advancing procedures,
medicines and diagnostic tools, giving hope to many patients and answers for many
doctors and researchers. Nanotechnology has been used to
develop sensors that aid in early cancer detection, as well as
a variety of drug delivering therapeutics to treat a wide
variety of diseases including heart disease and diabetes.
Efforts are also under way to use nanotechnology for the
treatment and outbreak management of infectious diseases.
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Bio-sensors
Nanoscale biosensors have been developed for early cancer detection using technology
based on detection/cellular pressure-sensing techniques which demonstrate that cancer
cells "feel" softer and have different texture when
compared to healthy cells. These findings indicate
potential new methods for early cancer detection.
Nature
Nanotechnology 2, 780-783 (2 December 2007)
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Lens-free Imaging
A lens-free imaging system finds and recognizes the shadows of T cells and bacteria.
Clinical tests for identifying and counting normal and bacterial cells in blood and other
samples can tell doctors the source of a bacterial infection
or help them monitor the immune health of people with
HIV. But conventional cell counting is costly and timeconsuming.
A simple, lens-free imaging system being
developed, nicknamed LUCAS, uses a chip like the one
found in a digital camera to count and distinguish
different types of cells in blood and drinking water, and
simple algorithms to identify and count the cells. A
prototype of LUCAS has been installed in a commercial
cell phone and web cam. Devices like this could be used to monitor water quality and to
provide cheap diagnostics in rural and underdeveloped areas.
LUCAS units are capable of counting and identifying a wide variety of microparticles
within a sample solution almost instantaneously and could be a potential replacement for
current equipment used in research labs used to identify cell types, which are limited to
analyzing a single cell at a time.
Lab Chip DOI: 10.1039/ b813943a (Published Online 5
December 2008)
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Double Nanoemulsion Droplets
Scientists at UCLA have succeeded in making unique double emulsion droplets (oil
droplets containing water droplets) that are much smaller than a human cell and
potentially can be used to deliver pharmaceuticals. The
main challenge that had to be overcome by researchers
was making these molecules stable within the sub-100
nanometer size range. The pharmaceutical cargo could be
a protein toxin that kills the cancer cell. This would work
through the delivery of an anti-cancer drug in the oil and
a toxin protein in the water- two molecules that can
work together to kill the cancer cell. While a cell can
often develop resistance to a single drug, the combination
approach can be more effective.
Nature 455, 85-88 (4
September 2008)
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Vaults
Vaults, also called natural nanoparticles, have been
designed which can deliver proteins and nucleic acids.
Researchers have determined the largest non-virus structure
ever crystallized, rendering it easier to engineer
nanpoarticle containers for drug therapy vehicles. This
represents the construction of the first atomic level model
of the structure of vaults which will guide vaults
engineering to targeted release of drug therapies. Vaults
are still in the process of being fully understood.
PLos Biology 5 (11) e318 (27 November 2007)
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Nanovalves and Nanoimpellers
Nanovalves and nanoimpellers are being synthesized at CNSI. Nanoimpellers are the first light-powered nanomachines
that operate inside living cells, a development that has
strong implications for cancer treatment. Nanoimpellers
capture and store anticancer drugs inside tiny pores and
release them into cancer cells in response to light.
Controlled release to a specific location is the key
issue. The nanoimpeller system may open a
new avenue for drug delivery under external control at
specific times and locations for phototherapy.
Small 4 421-426 (31 March 2008)
Los Angeles CBS Affiliate Report on Nanovalves and Nanoimpellers
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Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles
A new drug-delivery system developed by nanotechnology researchers promises to solve
the challenge of the poor water solubility of today's most
promising anti-cancer drugs and thereby increases their
effectiveness.
Small 3 1341-1346 (13 Jun 2007)
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Emerging Infectious Diseases
The High-Throughput Automated Laboratory for Infectious Diseases (HALID) is under
development in collaboration with Los Alamos National Laboratory and will have
specialized BSL3 level laboratory space at CNSI.
The program, funded by congressionally directed
Department of Defense investments and a grant from the
California Office of Homeland Security that amount to
$25 million, will improve the nation's ability to make
rapid and critically important decisions to save lives in
the event of bio-terror attacks or infectious disease
outbreaks. The laboratory will enable public health
experts to track diseases in near real time and
dramatically shorten the time needed to produce effective
vaccines.
The program will expedite widespread collection and testing of influenza samples within
a few days of collection and thereby guide emergency outbreak control efforts. The laboratory
will test and analyze many more viruses than are currently examined by state laboratories
and enhance capacity should laboratories be overloaded.
UCLA Newsroom "UCLA School of Public Health Awarded $9 Million Grant from the State of California
for New Biological Lab" (14 September 2006)
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