Nanomedicine and IP
Speaker: Shulamit Hirsch, IP Director, Ramot Day 5: Success Stories and the Road to Commercialization "Summer School on Nanomedicine and Innovation", The Marian Gertner Institute for Medical...

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Welcome - Summer School on Nanomedicine and Innovation
Speaker: Dan Peer (TAU) Day 1: Introduction to Nanomedicine "Summer School on Nanomedicine and Innovation", The Marian Gertner Institute for Medical Nanosyst...

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Welcome - Summer School on Nanomedicine and Innovation - Video

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) June 19, 2014

Several prominent speakers from across the globe that are part of Nanotek-2014 include Claudio Nicolini, Nanoworld Institute, Italy; Haruo Sugi, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Japan; Jim Klostergaard, MD Anderson Cancer Center, The University of Texas, USA; Israel Felner, The Hebrew University, Israel; Jean-Paul (Moshe) Lellouche, Bar-Ilan University, Israel; John F. Donegan, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland; Ashok K. Vaseashta, International Clean Water Institute, USA,; Kimihisa Yamamoto, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan; Serhii Shafraniuk, Northwestern University, USA; Mark Kester, NanoSTAR Institute of the University of Virginia, USA; Bjarne Bogen, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Norway; and Moinuddin Sarker, Natural State Research, Inc., USA.

Eminent Nobel Laureate Prof. Harold Kroto of the Florida State University, USA delivers keynote address on 'Carbon in Nano and Outer Space. On this occasion he described Nanotek-2014 as "Recent and exciting developments in our understanding of nanostructured materials promise paradigm shifting advances in device applications.Meetings such as Nanotek 2014 facilitate the cross-disciplinary research which will be needed to overcome the major technical hurdles if this promise is to be realized."

OMICS Group Journal of Nanomedicine & Nanotechnology, Journal of Nanomedicine & Biotherapeutic Discovery and Journal of Nanomaterials & Molecular Nanotechnology supports the OMICS Group Internationals Nanotek-2014 by publishing all the accepted and presented abstracts as proceeings.

This international conference will focus on many interesting scientific sessions such as Nanomaterials, Nanostructures, Nanomedicine, Nanodevices and Nanosensors, Materials science and Engineering, Nanoelectronics, Nanotechnology in Energy Systems, Environment, Health and Safety Issues of Nanotechnology, Recent Trends in Nanotechnology, Applications of Nanotechnology, Biomedical Engineering and Applications.

Two pre-conference National Symposiums has been scheduled during Nanotek-2014. Prof. Claudio Nicolini from The Fondazione Elba-Nicolini, Italy is organizing a pre-conference workshop on Structural Nanoproteomics, Dr. Dominique Ausserr, University of Le Mans, France, is organizing a pre-conference workshop on Coupled optical and electrochemical monitoring of working eletrodes in electochemistry research and Prof. Ashok K. Vaseashta from International Clean Water Institution, USA organizes a workshop on NT4W-Nanotechnology for Water Generation, Contamination Detection and Purification.

Asia pacific based Asian News Channel that provides 24/7 News & Feature service for Asia Pacific and Africa Region acts as a collaborator for this scientific event, while American Elements, a global manufacturer of several Nano-material including nanoparticles, nanopowder, nanotubes, nanowire, quantum dots, submicron, -325 mesh, etc., and The PlasmaChem mainly concerns nano-materials, detonation, vacuum, plasma and ultra-thin film technologies and their biomedical and technical applications. Sponsors the advertisements.

OMICS Group International is an open access publisher that publishes 400, Peer Reviewed Journals in the fields of Clinical, Medical, Engineering and technological, Pharmaceutical and Management fields. OMICS group hosts more than 300 International conferences and events across the globe. With the help of more than 150 scientific associations. Besides this OMICS Group also encourages the business collaboration and interaction through its B2B and Scientific Meetings.On behalf of Nanotek-2014, OMICS Group is glad to invite contributions from the enthusiastic participants to organize International Workshops that are both empirical and conceptual in exploring new dimensions in this field. It is open to all types of research methodologies both from academia and industry.

For conference registration / sponsorship application and additional details about Nanotek-2014, visit http://nanotechnology2014.conferenceseries.net/

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Challenging the Old Order to Set New Frontiers in Nanoscience & Nanotechnology

Introduction to nanomedicine with emphasis on carrier-mediated drug targeting
Lecturer: Rimona Margalit (TAU) "Summer School on Nanomedicine and Innovation", The Marian Gertner Institute for Medical Nanosystems, Tel Aviv University, Ju...

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Introduction to nanomedicine with emphasis on carrier-mediated drug targeting - Video

Nanomatriaux 2014 - AGuIX in nanomedicine
Nanomatriaux 2014 - AGuIX in nanomedicine Vido 03/18 Quels enjeux et perspectives pour les NANOMATERIAUX ? 4me dition des Journe industrielles Nanomatr...

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Nanomatriaux 2014 - AGuIX in nanomedicine - Video

Scientists from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and the Singapore Eye Research Institute have jointly developed a new nanomedicine, liposomal latanoprost, that will allow glaucoma patients to do away with daily eye drops. The nanomedicine is delivered to the front of the eye via a painless injection and will stay and release the anti-glaucoma drugs slowly over the next six months.

Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness, especially for the elderly. The condition is caused by high intra-ocular pressure in the eye, which then leads to damage to the optic nerve. Conventionally the first line of treatment for glaucoma patients is the daily application of eye drops that can lower the high pressure in their eyes. This treatment is usually required for the rest of the patients' lives because glaucoma is a chronic disease. The sustained-release drug therapy can provide months of control for glaucoma patients with a single application, compared to just hours with eye drops.

The new therapy has successfully gone through a pilot study with six patients conducted at the Singapore National Eye Centre. The treatment was shown to be both safe and effective.

Co-lead scientist Associate Professor Tina Wong, who is the head of the Ocular Therapeutics and Drug Delivery Research Group at the Singapore Eye Research Institute, said the new nanomedicine will benefit the elderly who often forget to use the daily eye drops, a lapse that leads to the worsening of their condition.

A release from the university quotes Dr. Wongs as saying, "It is estimated that at least ten per cent of blindness from glaucoma is directly caused by poor patient adherence to their prescribed medications. Many patients find it difficult to adhere to their doctor's prescribed regime for many reasons, such as forgetfulness, finding it too troublesome, or they lack understanding of the disease. The results in this clinical study will open up a new treatment modality for glaucoma other than taking daily eye drops, and will greatly enhance patient compliance and improve treatment outcomes."

Professor Subbu Venkatraman, Prof Wong's research partner, notes that the successful study of liposomal latanoprost can be hailed one of Singapore's early successes in the emerging area of nano medicine.

" This is the first nanocarrier-drug combination that shows therapeutic effects for three to four months with a single dose. The tough challenges we faced were to make this nanocapsule stable and biocompatible, while at the same time controlling the release of the drug at the desired rate over months," added Prof Venkatraman, the founding director of the NTU-Northwestern Institute for Nanomedicine, she said,

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No More Eye Drops for Glaucoma

The field of nanomedicine is inherently multidisciplinary requiring the involvement of those with knowledge of engineering, physics, chemistry, biology as well as medicine. The commercialization of nanomedicine adds further complexity and requires additional participation from those with experience in manufacturing, intellectual property, regulatory issues, strategic partnering, and raising investment. Suffice it to say, getting a nanomedicine to the clinic is a tremendous challenge. Given that nanomedicine is still a fairly nascent area, most nanomedicines are currently being developed in academia.

The Wyss Institute at Harvard University

The Wyss Institute at Harvard University is a collaborative effort between researchers, clinicians, corporations, and startups. The Institute is partnership between the following entities:

Programmable, or smart, nanomaterials can be formed from numerous types of materials including metals, polymers, and ceramics. At the Wyss Institute, nucleic acids (RNA, DNA) are the building blocks of their programmable nanomaterials. Nucleic acid-based nanostructures such as DNA origami are being developed to enable multiplexed diagnostic assays and medical imaging techniques and to form nanoparticle drug carriers targeting diseased sites within the body.

Heres a video from the Wyss Institutes website discussing DNA-based programmable nanomaterials.

To facilitate the launch of new ideas that may transcend into potential medical solutions, the Wyss Institute offers small grants to faculty at Harvard and collaborating academic institutions and medical centers. These grants enable exploratory research that would otherwise be too early-stage for government or industry funding. These early-stage grants are a much-needed source of financing as early-stage funding is extremely challenging to obtain, especially for life sciences efforts.

At the other end of the spectrum of commercialization, complementary to seed grants, the Wyss Institute actively seeks industrial partnerships. These partnerships can help with not only providing additional funding to promising projects, but also in giving insight to researchers regarding market opportunities. The industrial partners are also potential licensees of technologies developed at the Wyss institute, helping to bring the ideas to fruition and eventual commercialization.

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Cancer Nanomedicine - The Cancer Nanomedicine Blog

SINGAPORE - Under the treatment, a drug contained in millions of tiny capsules is injected into the eyeball. These nanomedicine capsules slowly release their contents over six months, replacing the need for daily eyedrops.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

Here is the statement from the Nanyang Technological University:

Scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI) have jointly developed a new nanomedicine that will allow glaucoma patients to do away with daily eye drops.

Glaucoma is a disease which could lead to blindness. This new sustained-release drug therapy can provide months of relief to glaucoma patients with a single application, compared to just hours with today's conventional eye drops.

The new therapy has successfully gone through a pilot study with six patients conducted at the Singapore National Eye Centre and has yielded exceptional results, having shown to be both safe and effective in the treatment of glaucoma.

A leading cause of blindness in the world especially for the elderly, glaucoma is caused by high intra-ocular pressure in the eye which then leads to damage to the optic nerve. Conventionally, the first line of treatment for glaucoma patients is the daily application of eye drops which can lower the high pressure in their eyes. This treatment is usually required for the rest of the patients' lives as glaucoma is a chronic disease.

Co-lead scientist Associate Professor Tina Wong, who is the head of the Ocular Therapeutics and Drug Delivery Research Group at the Singapore Eye Research Institute, said the new nanomedicine will benefit the elderly, as they often forget to use the daily eye drops, leading to the worsening of their conditions.

"It is estimated that at least ten per cent of blindness from glaucoma is directly caused by poor patient adherence to their prescribed medications," says Dr Wong, an Adjunct Associate Professor with NTU's School of Materials Science and Engineering.

"Many patients find it difficult to adhere to their doctor's prescribed regime for many reasons, such as forgetfulness, finding it too troublesome, or they lack understanding of the disease. The results in this clinical study will open up a new treatment modality for glaucoma other than taking daily eye drops, and will greatly enhance patient compliance and improve treatment outcomes," she said. Professor Tina Wong is also a senior consultant ophthalmologist with the Glaucoma Service at Singapore National Eye Centre.

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New glaucoma treatment replaces the hassle of applying eyedrops daily

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

3-Jun-2014

Contact: Lester Kok lesterkok@ntu.edu.sg 65-679-06804 Nanyang Technological University

Scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI) have jointly developed a new nanomedicine that will allow glaucoma patients to do away with daily eye drops.

Glaucoma is a disease which could lead to blindness. This new sustained-release drug therapy can provide months of relief to glaucoma patients with a single application, compared to just hours with today's conventional eye drops.

The new therapy has successfully gone through a pilot study with six patients conducted at the Singapore National Eye Centre and has yielded exceptional results, having shown to be both safe and effective in the treatment of glaucoma.

A leading cause of blindness in the world especially for the elderly, glaucoma is caused by high intra-ocular pressure in the eye which then leads to damage to the optic nerve. Conventionally, the first line of treatment for glaucoma patients is the daily application of eye drops which can lower the high pressure in their eyes. This treatment is usually required for the rest of the patients' lives as glaucoma is a chronic disease.

Co-lead scientist Associate Professor Tina Wong, who is the head of the Ocular Therapeutics and Drug Delivery Research Group at the Singapore Eye Research Institute, said the new nanomedicine will benefit the elderly, as they often forget to use the daily eye drops, leading to the worsening of their conditions.

"It is estimated that at least ten per cent of blindness from glaucoma is directly caused by poor patient adherence to their prescribed medications," says Dr Wong, an Adjunct Associate Professor with NTU's School of Materials Science and Engineering.

"Many patients find it difficult to adhere to their doctor's prescribed regime for many reasons, such as forgetfulness, finding it too troublesome, or they lack understanding of the disease. The results in this clinical study will open up a new treatment modality for glaucoma other than taking daily eye drops, and will greatly enhance patient compliance and improve treatment outcomes," she said.

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New nanomedicine by NTU and SERI scientists to bring relief to glaucoma patients

02.06.2014 / 09:00

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Berlin, Germany and Nevada, USA, June 2, 2014 - MagForce AG (Frankfurt, Entry Standard, XETRA: MF6), a leading medical device company in the field of nanomedicine focused on oncology, today announced that it will participate in the dbAccess German, Swiss & Austrian Conference 2014 held by Deutsche Bank from June 11 until June 13, 2014, in Berlin, Germany.

Meeting Details:

Speaker: Dr. Ben J. Lipps Date of presentation: Friday, June 13, 2014; 08:00 am CET Location: Hotel Adlon Kempinski, Unter den Linden 77, 10117 Berlin Availability for 1-on-1-meetings: Wednesday, June 11, 2014; 12:30 - 18:30 CET & Friday, June 13, 2014; all day

The presentation will be also made available on Magforce's website on http://www.magforce.com.

About MagForce AG

MagForce AG, listed in the entry standard (MF6), together with its subsidiary MAGFORCE USA, Inc. is a leading medical device company in the field of nanomedicine in oncology. The Group's proprietary NanoTherm(R) therapy enables the targeted treatment of solid tumors through the intratumoral generation of heat via activation of superparamagnetic nanoparticles. NanoTherm(R), NanoPlan(R), and NanoActivator(R) are components of the therapy and have received EU-wide regulatory approval as medical devices for the treatment of brain tumors. MagForce, NanoTherm, NanoPlan, and NanoActivator are trademarks of MagForce AG in selected countries. For more information, please visit http://www.magforce.com.

Disclaimer

This release may contain forward-looking statements and information which may be identified by formulations using terms such as "expects", "aims", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes", "seeks", "estimates" or "will". Such forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and certain assumptions, which may be subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties. The results actually achieved by MagForce AG may substantially differ from these forward-looking statements. MagForce AG assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements or to correct them in case of developments, which differ from those, anticipated.

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DGAP-News: MagForce AG: MagForce AG to present at dbAccess German, Swiss & Austrian Conference 2014, held by Deutsche ...

Laurent Levy left UB in 1999 with a dream: transforming his recently completed postdoctoral research on nanomedicine into real-world products for patients battling cancer.

Today, the scientist-turned-entrepreneur is zeroing in on that goal.

In February, Levys drug development company, Nanobiotix, announced that a cancer treatment called NBTXR3, the first product from its NanoXray pipeline, had shown positive intermediate results in a pilot clinical trial on patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma. These results allowed Nanobiotix to finalize and to announce its development plan for the launch of NBTXR3 on the market: With this first indication, advanced soft tissue sarcoma, NBTXR3 could be approved in Europe as early as 2016.

The news led to a jump in the companys stock price and new funding for research at UB.

Nanobiotix got its start in 2003 by licensing two technologies that Levy developed with colleagues at the university and Roswell Park Cancer Institute: magnetic nanoparticles for cancer treatment and diagnosis (NanoMag), and laser-activated nanoparticles for cancer treatment (NanoPDT).

UB received company stock as part of the licensing agreement, and sold the shares in February for $1.35 million. In accordance with university policy, the majority will return to UB, to be reinvested in research.

This is a real success story, says Vice Provost Robert Genco, who oversees the Office of Science, Technology Transfer and Economic Outreach (STOR). The office helps commercialize UB discoveries, in part by handling patent applications and licensing negotiations for technologies developed at the university.

Nanobiotix is an example of how UB is benefiting society: As a postdoctoral researcher here, Laurent saw the medical and commercial potential of the work he was doing and decided that he wanted to take it further, Genco says. Were a global university and were seeding companies not only in Western New York, but around the world.

At UB, Levy conducted postdoctoral research with SUNY Distinguished Professor Paras Prasad, executive director of the Institute of Laser, Photonics and Biophotonics (ILPB) at UB. Prasad is one of the worlds pre-eminent thinkers in nanomedicine, which uses super-small particles, materials and devices to treat and diagnose disease.

In the 1990s, when Levy was in Buffalo, the nanomedicine field was just emerging. He joined Prasads lab, where he developed the idea of using the unique properties of nanoparticles to kill cancer cells.

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UB spinoff Nanobiotix working to bring cancer treatment to market

nanomedicine edit1

By: Daniel Pratt

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nanomedicine edit1 - Video

Nanomedicine could one day provide a wide range of treatments, but possible toxicological effects from nanoparticles are still a cause of considerable concern. Studies have shown that nanoparticles tend to accumulate in the liver and spleen, but until now there have been limited ways to monitor the exposure of these organs without taking a sample from the tissue itself which could be fatal. Now, researchers at the University of Toronto have demonstrated that a glance at the skin can reveal the level of nanoparticle exposure and that measuring nanoparticle content in a skin sample can quantitatively indicate the concentration within internal organs.

"The skin of mice injected with high doses of gold nanoparticles turned blue," explains Warren Chan from the University of Toronto and team leader in the research project. "We've been working on nanoparticles for 15 years and never seen skin colour changing, but then before we never injected at such high doses." He tells nanotechweb.org that these higher dosage studies were prompted by the suggestion that nanoparticle toxicity is probably linked to dosage.

"Now we've proved that the concentration of nanoparticles in the skin is linked to concentrations in other organs and that there is a direct correlation," says Chan. "This means you can see nanoparticle accumulation through colour change in the skin or fluorescence under a UV lamp and then you can have a small skin biopsy to assess how much you've been exposed."

Spectroscopic studies of skin samples confirmed that the nanoparticle accumulation in the skin increased linearly with dosage. The researchers then microscopically analysed skin samples taken from mice at times ranging from 4 to 504 hours after injection. They found that at low dosages, nanoparticles accumulated in macrophage cells, but at higher dosages the particles were found in the space between cells.

"Macrophages gobble up foreign materials and break them down for removal from the body," explains Chan. "But when the dosage is too high, the macrophages in the skin cannot handle them all so theres what we call a 'spill-over effect', where the nanoparticles reside in the space between cells."

Comparing samples from the skin, liver and spleen demonstrated a linear relation between the accumulation levels in these organs. This finding implies that the concentration accumulated in the liver or spleen could be quantitatively determined simply by multiplying the measured skin content by a constant.

The research team also investigated whether skin accumulation occurred for other types of nanoparticle. Although the skin did not seem to change colour when quantum dots were used instead of gold nanoparticles, under a UV lamp the mice began to glow. Different alloys of quantum dots fluoresced green, yellow and red when exposed to UV light, which is in line with the known spectral properties of the quantum dots, confirming that the quantum dots and not the associated ions were residing in the skin. As for the gold nanoparticles, the quantity of quantum dots in the skin was linearly correlated with the injection dose.

At low dosages, the fluorescence itself was patchy, but the studies of skin samples indicated that quantum dots were in fact still present. A probable explanation for this finding is that the quantum dots had accumulated at different depths in the skin.

"UV light doesnt penetrate deep into the body," explains Chan, "So now, because we know a large concentration of nanoparticles accumulate in the skin, we may be able to use UV light to manipulate the nanoparticles' function." The researchers are now investigating the potential of using UV light to trigger drug release.

The results imply that fewer animals may be needed for future toxicology studies. Perhaps more significantly, this method of visualizing and quantifying nanoparticles may enable human exposure to be monitored. "At the moment theres no way of measuring this," adds Chan.

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A skinful of nanoparticles starts to show

Nanomedicine Presentation

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Nanomedicine Presentation - Video

Nanomedicine Promo

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Nanomedicine Promo - Video

Nanomedicine
None-- Created using PowToon -- Free sign up at http://www.powtoon.com/ . Make your own animated videos and animated presentations for free. PowToon is a free tool that allows you to develop...

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Nanomedicine - Video

April 21, 2014

A new nanoglue is expected to have applications in surgery and regenerative medicine for humans and animals alike. AFP/Relaxnews pic, April 21, 2014.Thanks to the progress of nanomedicine, stitches could soon become a thing of the past, giving way to nanoglue. The efficacy of the innovative technique has now been demonstrated in vivo.

Effective and easy to use, the revolutionary solution of silica nanoparticles is capable of closing deep wounds in a matter of seconds.

Developed last December by a team of researchers from the Soft Materials and Chemistry Laboratory (ESPCI/CNRS) and the Laboratory for Vascular Translational Science (Paris Diderot University) in France, the solution was the subject of a publication in the scientific journal Angewandte Chemie dated April 16.

The researchers were able to test the nanoglue procedure alongside current conventional methods for sealing deep wounds or repairing cuts to an organ, and the results lived up to expectations. The nanoglue method resulted in minimal scarring, an absence of necrosis or inflammation, and rapid healing of the wound. Hemorrhaging is quickly stopped and organ function is preserved.

The solution withstands immersion in water and is self-repairing, according to the CNRS, making it ideal for joining two pieces of skin or organ tissue during surgery. Silica is a widely available material, as it is used extensively in manufacturing and as a food additive.

The new nanoglue is expected to have applications in surgery and regenerative medicine for humans and animals alike. AFP/Relaxnews, April 21, 2014.

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WEST HARTFORD, Conn., April 17, 2014 /PRNewswire-iReach/ --

Global Information Inc. announces the addition of a new market research report "Nanomedicine Market (Neurology, Cardiovascular, Anti-inflammatory, Anti-infective, and Oncology Applications) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share,Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2013 - 2019" at GIIResearch.com

This report includes market estimations for nanomedicine market for the forecast period 2013 - 2019. The market size is represented in terms of USD billion and the market estimates and forecasts are calculated, considering 2012 as the base year. Moreover, market trends and recent developments have been kept into account while forecasting market growth and revenue for the period 2013 - 2019.

The overall nanomedicine market is segmented on the basis of application and geography and the market estimations for each of these segments, in terms of USD billion, is provided in this report.

The nanomedicine market, by applications is segmented into neurological, cardiovascular, oncology, anti-inflammatory, anti-infective and other markets. The nanomedicine market is also estimated and analyzed on the basis of geographic regions such as North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and rest of the world.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Preface Chapter 2 Executive Summary Chapter 3 Global Nanomedicine Market Overview Chapter 4 Global Nanomedicine Market, by Applications Chapter 5 Global Nanomedicine Market, by Geography Chapter 6 Recommendations Chapter 7 Company Profiles List of Tables and Figures

More detailed information is available at http://www.giiresearch.com/report/tsm294638-nanomedicine-market-neurology-cardiovascular-anti.html

Media Contact: Joe Malley, Global Information, Inc., 860-674-8796, US-marketing@gii.co.jp

News distributed by PR Newswire iReach: https://ireach.prnewswire.com

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Nanomedicine Market (Neurology, Cardiovascular, Anti-inflammatory, Anti-infective, and Oncology Applications) - Global ...

4 hours ago by Bill Kisliuk

(Phys.org) When it comes to nanomedicine, smaller issurprisinglynot always better.

UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science researchers have determined that the diminutive size of nanowire-based biosensorswhich healthcare workers use to detect proteins that mark the onset of heart failure, cancer and other health risksis not what makes them more sensitive than other diagnostic devices. Rather, what matters most is the interplay between the charged ions in the biological sample being tested and the charged proteins captured on the sensors' surface.

The finding counters years of conventional wisdom that a biosensor can be made more sensitive simply by reducing the diameter of the nanowires that make up the device. This assumption has driven hundreds of costly research-and-development efforts in the field of nanomedicinein which tiny materials and devices are used to detect, diagnose and treat disease.

The research suggests new directions for designing biosensors to improve their sensitivity and make them more practical for doctorsand, eventually, patients themselvesto use.

"This is the first time the understanding of why nanowire biosensing works has been challenged," said Chi On Chui, an associate professor of electrical engineering and bioengineering at UCLA whose lab performed the research. "The advantage is not from the fact that the wires are nanoscale, but rather how their geometry reduces the ability of the ions to inhibit protein detection. This research could be a step toward developing sophisticated, cost-efficient and portable devices to accurately detect a range of illnesses."

The research was published March 25 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Nanowire biosensors are, in essence, electronic transistors with a diameter smaller than the width of a single red blood cell. When they are exposed to a sample of blood or another bodily fluid, the specific charged proteins being tested for are captured on the nanowires' surfaces. The charge of the captured proteins changes the rate of electric current flowing through the nanowire transistor. By monitoring the electrical current, researchers can quantify the concentration of proteins in the sample, which can give them an indication of heart health, diabetes and a number of other medical conditions.

A challenge to the practical use of the technology is that in addition to the charged proteins, many physiological fluids contain a large concentration of charged ions, such as sodium, potassium and chloride. These ions surround the proteins and mask the protein charge, which prevents the sensor from detecting the proteins.

Researchers in labs can circumvent this problem. But doctors performing tests on their patients or patients monitoring their own health at home cannot do so without the assistance of a technician. This has hampered the adoption of the technology.

Continue reading here:
In latest generation of tiny biosensors, size isn't everything

While giving a talk at a conference in Australia in the mid-2000s, IBM Research's lead scientist for the advanced organic materials group, James Hedrick, had an encounter that would make him rethink his career. At one point, Hedrick--who holds more than 100patents--took a question from a woman in the audience. It wasn't what he was expecting. "Why are you wasting your time with all this electronics stuff?" asked Dr. Yi Yan Yang, who works at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in Singapore. "You need to work with me." That evening, Yang filled Hedrick in on how she was using high-tech nanomaterials for medical purposes. "She was absolutely right," Hedrick recalls. "I was wasting time doing just semiconductors."

The result was IBM's unusual nanomedicine program, an ongoing collaboration between Hedrick's team at the Almaden, Californiabased IBM Research and Yang's group of researchers in Singapore. The project is tackling a range of ambitious projects: creating better antimicrobial and antifungal agents, new methods of drug delivery, and novel ways of combating such diseases as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. It may seem strange that computer-hardware giant IBM is pouring resources into experimental nanomedicine, but it's part of a larger trend within the company. "There is a huge group of IBMers who think we should be using our intellectual know-how to address global problems," says Spike Narayan, director of IBM Research's science and technology group. "As we've pushed the boundaries and engaged with other disciplines, we've found that some of our capabilities in materials and nanotechnology are very relevant in addressing challenges related to water, energy, the environment, and health care. That's the motivation."

Although it has yet to yield a commercial product (Narayan says several joint ventures are in the works), the program also makes sense from a business perspective. Even as the price of computing power keeps falling for consumers, R&D and manufacturing costs are steadily increasing for semiconductor producers. That's squeezing profits: Between 2000 and 2012, IBM's hardware business went from contributing 35% of the company's pretax income to just 14%. Perhaps that's why in February 2014, Big Blue reportedly hired Goldman Sachs to explore a potential sale of its semiconductor operation. New areas such as nanomedicine could offer a way for IBM to continue profiting from its cutting-edge research in nanomaterials even if it does get out of semiconductors. "Now we have an ITcentric focus," says Narayan, "but there's no reason we couldn't be more materials-focused, providing enabling technology for other companies."

The nanomedicine group's first big breakthrough was the creation of polymer-based nanoparticles that can target and kill MRSA, a potentially deadly drug-resistant bacterium. The nanoparticles engineered by the IBMSingapore team--dubbed "ninja particles"--use electrostatic attraction to target infected cells. Because the polymers used to create ninja particles are biodegradable, they pass out of the body once they've done their job. While the particles haven't yet been submitted for FDA approval, IBM is working with pharmaceutical, consumer-products, and medical-device companies to explore applications.

In the past year, the pace of innovation has accelerated. The Hedrick-Yang group published a paper in December that describes a method for breaking down PET--the stuff plastic bottles are made of--and reconstructing it into a nanofiber that can kill fungal infections on contact. In the lab, these nanofibers were more effective in fewer doses than conventional antifungal drugs, in addition to being nontoxic and biodegradable. Since the polymers used in both chip manufacture and nanomedicine are generally derived from petroleum, the ability to instead start from recycled material could reduce industrial consumption of oil and gas while providing a new use for plastic waste.

Hedrick and his partners have also made headway in drug delivery, coaxing nanoparticles to self-assemble into a gel-like material that can encapsulate molecules of a drug and release them at a particular location in the body over an extended period of time. When the Singapore team encapsulated the breast cancer drug Herceptin into the hydrogel and injected it into animals, their tumors shrank more than 75%, and the drug remained active and effective in the bloodstream for a month after a single injection. Tumors in animals given a regular IV injection of the drug didn't shrink at all, according to results published in November 2013.

Potential medical and consumer applications for materials coming out of the nanomedicine program are practically limitless: they could be injected; applied as a topical gel to treat wounds and infections; included in products such as soap, hand sanitizer, and shampoo; or applied as a germ-fighting coating on everything from medical devices to cutting boards and toothbrushes. Before they can be commercialized, all of these products will require approval by either the EPA or FDA, so rather than bring products to market on its own, IBM will aim to collaborate with partners that have more regulatory and manufacturing expertise. "Increasingly, in these nontraditional, interdisciplinary spaces, no one has all the capabilities," says Narayan. "As we jointly develop [intellectual property], there will be all kinds of royalty and other revenue streams coming out." The first product to make it out of the lab will most likely be an antimicrobial material to clean surfaces in hospitals.

For Hedrick, pivoting from his comfort zone in silicon hardware has been a learning process. "When I first started this, we went to some major pharma companies, and I got my backside handed to me pretty quick," he says. "Now I feel very comfortable going into a room with scientists and executives and rattling off proteins and numbers and names. A lot of the time [when he's not in meetings], though--I kid you not--I have Wikipedia open on my phone."

Inspired in part by the recent launch of an IBM Research lab in Africa, Hedrick is excited about deploying nanomaterials to fight illnesses that disproportionately afflict the region, including tuberculosis, dengue fever, and HIV. He also hopes to look at ways to use nanocontainers to deliver drugs across the blood-brain barrier--a major challenge in treating conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. "Even three years ago, I would have been surprised by what we've been able to accomplish so far," he says. "IBM Research has given us significant latitude and freedom. Because they've always kept the lights on, we're able to address these grand challenges in a unique way."

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How IBM Is Using Nanotechnology To Tackle MRSA And HIV