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Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) confirms Ukrainian breakthrough in Alzheimer's treatment with Hydrated Fullerenes or C60-HYFNs or Water Soluble Buckyballs

Russian Academy of Sciences confirms Ukrainian break-though in treating Alzheimer’s
with Carbon 60 or C-60 or hydrated fullerenes (C60HYFns) or Buckeyballs. 

After the discovery of C-60 in 1985 and the awarding of the Nobel prize in 1995 to Kroto, Smalley and Curl, Ukrainian scientists, then discovered a way to make Carbon 60 or C-60 or fullerenes or buckeyballs water soluble about 15 years ago, have made progress on the Alzheimer’s front
treating it with Fullerene Water Solution (FWS) and with conventional treatment.
This was approved as a “dietary supplement” by the Ukrainian Ministry of Health
in 2010, and just several weeks ago they started producing a water drink in
Ukraine with .0002mg/100ml of C-60.

Walter  Derzko

WATER  SOLUBLE C60 FOR DEVELOPING ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE  TREATMENT

I.Ya.Podolskiy1) E.G.Makarova 1) R.Ya.Gordon2) V.V.Vorobev2) L.G.Bobyleva 1) A.G.Bobylev1)
Z.A.Podlubnaya1) , A.B.Geht3) O.A.Mishulina4)


1) Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics, Pushchino
2) Institute of Cell Biophysics, Pushchino
3) The Russian State Medical University, Moscow
4) National Research Nuclear University MEPI, Moscow


Creation of drugs for the  prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most important
challenge to biomedical research in the XXI century. Synthesis of water-soluble
fullerenes and carbon nanotubes opened a new direction for drug development,
which is growing rapidly in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

* Rationale. One key element in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease is increased formation of aggregated forms in the brain of amyloid β-peptide (1-42) (Aβ1-42). Create antiamiloid drugs is
the main thrust of development of asthma therapy.

^ The project aims to investigate the properties of stable antiamiloidn molecular colloidal aqueous
solution of fullerene C60HyFn.

Results. By transmission electron microscopy in vitro for the first time on a visual level, it was shown that
water-soluble C60 prevent and destroy the beta-amyloid. These findings led to
the conclusion that the fullerene in vitro anti-aggregation has a strong effect
on the β-amyloid peptides. Microinjection C60HyFn (0.46 nmol / μl) into the
hippocampus significantly reduced β-amyloid deposits in the pyramidal neurons of
hippocampal CA1 neurons and warned neurodegeneration. Fluorescence microscopy of
hippocampal pyramidal neurons with acridine orange and microfluoremetric
analysis will provide quantitative data on the restoration protein synthesizing
activity of pyramidal neurons in the hippocampus, impaired Aβ. Microinjection
C60HyFn (0.46 nmol/1μl) to prevent violations of spatial memory, due to the
introduction of the hippocampus Aβ1-42 (1.6 nmol / μl). On surviving hippocampal
slices fullerene increases the activity of pyramidal neurons in rats modified
EEG frontal cortex, impaired Aβ1-42.

Conclusion. Functionalized C60 direction slowly act on one of the key molecular targets of Alzheimer's disease, aggregated amyloid β-peptides, and are of great interest for the development of
Alzheimer's disease therapy. We assume that in the first half of the XXI century
will be based on fullerenes developed an effective prevention and treatment of
Alzheimer's disease.

This work was supported by a grant of the Presidium of RAS "basic sciences Medicine" and the state contract the Ministry of Higher Education and Science of the Russian Federation №
P1052.

http://rudocs.exdat.com/docs/index-417897.html?page=47

More in Russian

http://www.c60water.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9&Itemid=33

Ukrainian scientists, who discovered a way to make Carbon 60 or C-60 or fullerenes or buckeyballs
water soluble about 15 years ago, have made progress on the Alzheimer’s front
treating it with Fullerene Water Solution (FWS) and with conventional treatment.
This was approved as a “dietary supplement” by the Ukrainian Ministry of Health
in 2010, and just several weeks ago they started producing a water drink in
Ukraine with .0002mg/100ml of C-60.

Below is a very rough
Google Translation from the Russian original.

Obviously, this
research is not on the radar of most western
researchers.

Walter
Derzko

http://www.c60water.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9&Itemid=33

One of the diseases elderly is Alzheimer's disease or senile dementia.
More common after
sixty, but sick and young people. The disease is characterized by a steady
deterioration of memory until the complete disintegration of the personality.
Already in the beginning of the disease, recognizing the gradual loss of memory,
a person experiences great emotionally shaken. This neurodegenerative disease
affects more than thirty million people. Nicholas Sparks romantic drama "The
Notebook" and the same film shows the tragedy of close people who are sick of
this terrible disease.
Unfortunately, at present, has not yet found drugs
that can stop or reverse the development of cause neurodegenerative process.
Search for drugs for the treatment of this disease are engaged in the world. The
Institute of
Theoretical and
Experimental Biophysics studies in experimental models of Alzheimer's disease
are conducted under the direction of Igor Jakovljevic Podolsky. In 2007, he
first discovered the neuroprotective properties of water molecules with the most
beautiful. His work, published in January 2012, revealed the influence of
fullerene water very cause of the neurodegenerative process of memory
loss.
Alzheimer's disease is
associated with a decrease in the water content in the brain and increased
formation of amyloid protein (beta-amyloid peptide Aβ1-42). The threads of this
protein like vines entwine the neurons of the brain, disrupting their work and
worsening memory. In November 2011, Podolsky reported to the Presidium of RAS
results of their work done in accordance with the program "Fundamental science -
medicine." It was shown that the water has a fullerene antiamiloidnymi
properties. Microinjection of water prevents the formation of amyloid by
fullerene and destroyed "threads" of amyloid protein. This led to a reduction of
neurodegenerative changes in the brain of rats and restore lost
memory.
Interview with Igor Yakovlevich under "great discovery" was broadcast
on Channel One Russian TV from 18 to 23 March 2012.

The obtained results
allow us to begin clinical studies of fullerene water as a means for the
treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's disease. It is assumed that patients
will spray water fullerene as a spray in the nasal passages and to drink a
certain pattern.
Increased production of amyloid protein is the cause of not
only Alzheimer's disease. In addition to degenerative changes in the brain, it
can cause malfunction of other organs such as the pancreas, which is considered
as a possible cause of diabetes type. Amyloid proteins provoke the development
of many serious human diseases, the methods of treatment which at the moment
does not exist.
The Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics of
amyloidosis research conducted by Professor Zoya Alexandrovna Podlubnaya. Her
studies show that water prevents the formation of fullerene and destroying
amyloids in striated muscle. Antiamiloidnye fullerene properties of water can
allow the creation of new drugs for the treatment of previously incurable
diseases. This stimulates interest in studying biomedical properties of
fullerene water in many research centers. 

New nano technology may enable earlier cancer diagnosis

Nanoparticles amplify tumor signals, making them much easier to detect in the urine.

Anne Trafton, MIT News Office

December 14, 2012

                                                                                                                                                           These nanoparticles created by MIT engineers can act as synthetic biomarkers for disease. The particles (brown) are coated with peptides (blue) that are cleaved by enzymes (green) found at the disease site. The peptides then accumulate in the urine, where they can be detected using mass spectrometry.                                                                           
Image: Justin H. Lo

December 16, 2012

Finding ways to diagnose cancer earlier could greatly improve the chances of survival for many patients. One way to do this is to look for specific proteins secreted by cancer cells, which circulate in the bloodstream. However, the quantity of these biomarkers is so low that detecting them has proven difficult.

A new technology developed at MIT may help to make biomarker detection much easier. The researchers, led by Sangeeta Bhatia, have developed nanoparticles that can home to a tumor and interact with cancer proteins to produce thousands of biomarkers, which can then be easily detected in the patient’s urine.

This biomarker amplification system could also be used to monitor disease progression and track how tumors respond to treatment, says Bhatia, the John and Dorothy Wilson Professor of Health Sciences and Technology and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT.

“There’s a desperate search for biomarkers, for early detection or disease prognosis, or looking at how the body responds to therapy,” says Bhatia, who is also a member of MIT’s David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. She adds that the search has been complicated because genomic studies have revealed that many cancers, such as breast cancer, are actually groups of several diseases with different genetic signatures.

The MIT team, working with researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, described the new technology in a paper appearing in Nature Biotechnology on Dec. 16. Lead author of the paper is Gabriel Kwong, a postdoc in MIT’s Institute for Medical Engineering and Science and the Koch Institute.

Amplifying cancer signals

Cancer cells produce many proteins not found in healthy cells. However, these proteins are often so diluted in the bloodstream that they are nearly impossible to identify. A recent study from Stanford University researchers found that even using the best existing biomarkers for ovarian cancer, and the best technology to detect them, an ovarian tumor would not be found until eight to 10 years after it formed.

“The cell is making biomarkers, but it has limited production capacity,” Bhatia says. “That’s when we had this ‘aha’ moment: What if you could deliver something that could amplify that signal?”

Serendipitously, Bhatia’s lab was already working on nanoparticles that could be put to use detecting cancer biomarkers. Originally intended as imaging agents for tumors, the particles interact with enzymes known as proteases, which cleave proteins into smaller fragments.

Cancer cells often produce large quantities of proteases known as MMPs. These proteases help cancer cells escape their original locations and spread uncontrollably by cutting through proteins of the extracellular matrix, which normally holds cells in place.

The researchers coated their nanoparticles with peptides (short protein fragments) targeted by several of the MMP proteases. The treated nanoparticles accumulate at tumor sites, making their way through the leaky blood vessels that typically surround tumors. There, the proteases cleave hundreds of peptides from the nanoparticles, releasing them into the bloodstream.

The peptides rapidly accumulate in the kidneys and are excreted in the urine, where they can be detected using mass spectrometry.

This new system is an exciting approach to overcoming the problem of biomarker scarcity in the body, says Sanjiv Gambhir, chairman of the Department of Radiology at Stanford University School of Medicine. “Instead of being dependent on the body to naturally shed biomarkers, you’re sampling the site of interest and causing biomarkers that you engineered to be released,” says Gambhir, who was not part of the research team.

Distinctive signatures

To make the biomarker readings as precise as possible, the researchers designed their particles to express 10 different peptides, each of which is cleaved by a different one of the dozens of MMP proteases. Each of these peptides is a different size, making it possible to distinguish them with mass spectrometry. This should allow researchers to identify distinct signatures associated with different types of tumors.

In this study, the researchers tested their nanoparticles’ ability to detect the early stages of colorectal cancer in mice, and to monitor the progression of liver fibrosis.

Liver fibrosis is an accumulation of scarring in response to liver injury or chronic liver disease. Patients with this condition have to be regularly monitored by biopsy, which is expensive and invasive, to make sure they are getting the right treatment. In mice, the researchers found that the nanoparticles could offer much more rapid feedback than biopsies.

They also found that the nanoparticles could accurately reveal the early formation of colorectal tumors. In ongoing studies, the team is studying the particles’ ability to measure tumor response to chemotherapy and to detect metastasis.

The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Kathy and Curt Marble Cancer Research Fund.

Nanofibers clean sulfur from fuel

 

       

---

Nanofibers of metal oxide provide lots of highly reactive surface area for scrubbing sulfur compounds from fuel. Sulfur has to be removed because it emits toxic gasses and corrodes catalysts.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. —     Sulfur compounds in petroleum fuels have met their nano-structured match.

University of Illinois researchers developed mats of metal oxide nanofibers that scrub sulfur from petroleum-based fuels much more effectively than traditional materials.  Such efficiency could lower costs and improve performance for fuel-based catalysis, advanced energy applications and toxic gas removal.

          Co-led by Mark Shannon, a professor of mechanical science and engineering at the U. of I. until his death this fall, and chemistry professor Prashant Jain, the researchers demonstrated their material in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

          Sulfur compounds in fuels cause problems on two fronts: They release toxic gases during combustion, and they damage metals and catalysts in engines and fuel cells. They usually are removed using a liquid treatment that adsorbs the sulfur from the fuel, but the process is cumbersome and requires that the fuel be cooled and reheated, making the fuel less energy efficient.

          To solve these problems, researchers have turned to solid metal oxide adsorbents, but those have their own sets of challenges. While they work at high temperatures, eliminating the need to cool and re-heat the fuel, their performance is limited by stability issues. They lose their activity after only a few cycles of use.

          Previous studies found that sulfur adsorption works best at the surface of solid metal oxides, so graduate student Mayank Behl, from Jain’s group, and Junghoon Yeom, then a postdoctoral researcher in Shannon’s group, set out to create a material with maximum surface area. The solution: tiny grains of zinc titanate spun into nanofibers, uniting high surface area, high reactivity and structural integrity in a high-performance sulfur adsorbent.

          The nanofiber material is more reactive than the same material in bulk form, enabling complete sulfur removal with less material, allowing for a smaller reactor. The material stays stable and active after several cycles. Furthermore, the fibrous structure grants the material immunity from the problem of sintering, or clumping, that plagues other nano-structured catalysts.

“Our nanostructured fibers do not sinter,” Jain said. “The fibrous structure accommodates any thermophysical changes without resulting in any degradation of the material. In fact, under operating conditions, nanobranches grow from the parent fibers, enhancing the surface area during operation.”

Jain’s group will continue to investigate the enhanced properties of nanofiber structures, hoping to gain an atomic-level understanding of what makes the material so effective.

“We are interested in finding out the atomic sites on the surface of the material where the hydrogen sulfide adsorbs,” said Jain, who is also affiliated with the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the U. of I. “If we can know the identity of these sites, we could engineer an even more efficient adsorbent material. The atomic or nanoscale insight we gain from this material system could be useful to design other catalysts in renewable energy and toxic gas removal applications.”

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation, the department of chemistry and the Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory at the U. of I.

      Editor's note: To contact Prashant Jain, call 217-333-3417; email jain@illinois.edu.
The paper, “A regenerable oxide-based H2S adsorbent with nanofibrous morphology,” is available online.

Using light to remotely trigger biochemical reactions

Light-Triggered Biocatalysis Using Thermophilic Enzyme–Gold Nanoparticle Complexes

Matthew D. Blankschien †‡, Lori A. Pretzer §, Ryan Huschka §, Naomi J. Halas ‡§#, Ramon Gonzalez †‡#*, and Michael S. Wong †‡§*

^†Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering,^‡Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, ^§Department of Chemistry, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Department of Physics and Astronomy, ^#Department of Bioengineering,Laboratory for Nanophotonics and the Rice Quantum Institute, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005-1892, United States

ACS Nano, Article ASAP

DOI: 10.1021/nn3048445

Publication Date (Web): December 13, 2012

Copyright © 2012 American Chemical Society

*Address correspondence to ramon.gonzalez@rice.edu;mswong@rice.edu.

¶ Author Contributions

These authors contributed equally to this study.

Abstract

The use of plasmonic nanoparticle complexes for biomedical applications such as imaging, gene therapy, and cancer treatment is a rapidly emerging field expected to significantly improve conventional medical practices. In contrast, the use of these types of nanoparticles to noninvasively trigger biochemical pathways has been largely unexplored. Here we report the light-induced activation of the thermophilic enzyme Aeropyrum pernix glucokinase, a key enzyme for the decomposition of glucose via the glycolysis pathway, increasing its rate of reaction 60% with light by conjugating the enzyme onto Au nanorods. The observed increase in enzyme activity corresponded to a local temperature increase within a calcium alginate encapsulate of 20 °C when compared to the bulk medium maintained at standard, nonthermophilic temperatures. The encapsulated nanocomplexes were reusable and stable for several days, making them potentially useful in industrial applications. This approach could significantly improve how biochemical pathways are controlled for in vitro and, quite possibly, in vivo use.

Keywords: 

nanorod; thermophilic enzyme; alginate; 

Do-it-yourself viruses: How viruses self assemble

Do-it-yourself viruses: How viruses self assemble

		IMAGE:The capsid enveloping a virus is essential for protection and propagation of the viral genome. Many viruses have evolved a self-assembly method which is so successful that the viral capsid...Click here for more information.

A new model of the how the protein coat (capsid) of viruses assembles, published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Biophysics,  shows that the construction  of intermediate structures prior to final capsid production (hierarchical assembly) can be more efficient than constructing the capsid protein by protein (direct assembly). The capsid enveloping a virus is essential for protection and propagation of the viral genome. Many viruses have evolved a self-assembly method which is so successful that the viral capsid can self assemble even when removed from its host cell.

The construction of large protein structures has been observed experimentally but the mechanism behind this is not well understood. Even the 'simple' icosahedral protein coat of the T1 virus requires integration of 60 protein components. Computational models of the physical interactions of component proteins are used to investigate the dynamics and physical constraints that regulate whether the components assemble correctly.

Using computer simulations a team from the Institute for Theoretical Physics and the Center for Quantitative Biology (BioQuant), University of Heidelberg, has compared direct and hierarchical assembly methods for T1 and T3 viruses. The  team led by Ulrich S Schwarz, realised that direct assembly often led to the formation of unfavorable intermediates, especially when the dissociation rate was low, which hindered further assembly, causing the process to stall. In contrast, for many conditions hierarchical assembly was more reliable, especially if the bonds involved had a low dissociation rate.

Discussing the practical applications of these results, Dr Schwarz commented, "Hierarchical assembly has not been systematically investigated before. Theoretical models and computer simulations, like ours, can be used to understand the mechanism behind assembly of complex viruses and give an indication of how other large protein complexes assemble."

He continued, " With our computer simulations, we are now in a position to investigate systems which are too large to be studied by molecular resolution. This rational approach might have many applications not only in biomedicine, but also in materials science, where many researchers strive to learn from nature how to assembly complex structures."

 

###

Media Contact

Dr Hilary Glover
Scientific Press Officer, BioMed Central
Tel:  +44 (0) 20 3192 2370
Mob: +44 (0) 778 698 1967
Email: hilary.glover@biomedcentral.com

Notes

1. Stochastic Dynamics of Virus Capsid Formation: Direct versus Hierarchical Self-Assembly Johanna E Baschek, Heinrich CR Klein and Ulrich S SchwarzBMC Biophysics (Section: Computational and theoretical biophysics) (in press)

Please name the journal in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the article. All articles are available free of charge, according to BioMed Central's open access policy.

Article citation and URL available on request on the day of publication.

Please credit images to Johanna E Baschek, Heinrich CR Klein and Ulrich S Schwarz. More images and videos are available on request.

2. BMC Biophysics is an open access journal publishing original peer-reviewed research articles in experimental and theoretical aspects of biological processes from the microscopic to macroscopic level, including thermodynamics, structural stability and dynamics, molecular biophysics, signalling, novel biophysical methods and computational biophysics.

3. BioMed Central is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All peer-reviewed research articles published by BioMed Central are made immediately and freely accessible online, and are licensed to allow redistribution and reuse. BioMed Central is part of Springer Science+Business Media, a leading global publisher in the STM sector. @BioMedCentral

 

 

 

Salk Scientists Develop Faster, Safer Method for Producing Stem Cells

Salk Scientists Develop Faster, Safer Method for Producing Stem Cells

Released: 12/3/2012 6:00 PM EST 
Source: Salk Institute for Biological Studies

 http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/596822/?sc=dwhn

The new method boosts cell yields and increases safety, helping to get another step closer to regenerative medicine

Newswise — LA JOLLA, CA---- A new method for generating stem cells from mature cells promises to boost stem cell production in the laboratory, helping to remove a barrier to regenerative medicine therapies that would replace damaged or unhealthy body tissues.

The technique, developed by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, allows for the unlimited production of stem cells and their derivatives as well as reduces production time by more than half, from nearly two months to two weeks.

"One of the barriers that needs to be overcome before stem cell therapies can be widely adopted is the difficulty of producing enough cells quickly enough for acute clinical application," says Ignacio Sancho-Martinez, one of the first authors of the paper and a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, the Roger Guillemin Chair at the Salk Institute.

They and their colleagues, including Fred H. Gage, professor in Salk's Laboratory of Genetics, have published a new method for converting cells in this week's Nature Methods.

Stem cells are valued for their "pluripotency," the ability to become nearly any cell in the body. Stem cells for research and clinical uses are derived in two ways, either directly from cells young enough to still be pluripotent, or from mature cells that have been "reprogrammed" to be pluripotent.

The first kind are called "embryonic stem cells," (ESCs) even though the term is a misnomer. They are actually taken from blastocysts, the hollow bundle of cells approximately the size of a tip of a pin that is formed by a fertilized egg after five days of cell division. After a blastocyst implants in the uterus, the embryo stage begins.

Aside from the well-known ethical controversies, ESCs have a less discussed problem: Tissues grown from ESCs may trigger immune reactions when they are transplanted into patients.

In order to overcome both ethical and medical concerns, scientists learned how to coax mature cells (called "somatic cells") that had differentiated into particular types of tissue back to their pluripotent state. These so-called "induced pluripotent stem cells," or iPSCs, set off whole new rounds of research, including a third way to get desired cell types.

As it turns out, iPSCs have their own problems. They take a long time to create in the lab, in a highly inefficient process that can take up to two months to complete. First, somatic cells must be reprogrammed to iPSCs, which takes considerable time and effort. Then, the iPSCs have to be differentiated into specific cell lineages prior to therapeutic application. Far worse, they can sometimes develop into tumors, called teratomas, which can be cancerous.

Knowing this, scientists wondered if it might not be necessary to go all the way back to the blank slate of a pluripotent stem cell. Key to this idea is that pluripotent stem cells do not immediately grow into particular cells. They go through intermediate progenitor phases where they become "multipotent," and can only develop into cell types within a certain cellular lineage. While a pluripotent cell can become nearly any cell in the body, a multipotent blood cell, for example, can become red or white blood cells or platelets, but not distant lineages such as neurons.

Thus, in order to avoid the potential problems of working with iPSCs, scientists developed the technique of "direct lineage conversion." Unlike the familiar scenario, in which a pluripotent cell would divide and generate all different cell types of an adult individual, in direct lineage conversion one somatic cell is turned into just one other cell type, thus, for example, one skin cell becomes one muscle cell, but nothing else.

While this technique is effective, the Salk team and their colleagues wondered if there might be a modification that could be both more efficient and safer.

"Beyond the obvious issue of safety, the biggest consideration when thinking about stem cells for clinical use is productivity," says Salk post doctoral researcher Leo Kurian, a first co-author on the paper.

The team developed a new technique, which they dubbed "indirect lineage conversion" (ILC). In ILC, as explained in detail in Nature Methods, somatic cells are pushed back to an earlier state suitable for further specification into progenitor cells.

ILC has the potential to generate multiple lineages once cells are transferred to the team's specially developed chemical environment. Most importantly, ILC saves time and reduces the risk of teratomas by not requiring iPSC generation. Instead, somatic cells are directed to become the progenitor cells of particular lineages. "We don't push them to zero, we just push them a bit back," Sancho-Martinez says.

Using ILC, the group reprogrammed human fibroblasts (skin cells) to become angioblast-like cells, the progenitors of vascular cells. These new cells could not only proliferate, but also further differentiate into endothelial and smooth muscle vascular lineages. When implanted in mice, these cells integrated into the animals' existing vasculature.

"One of the long-term hopes for stem cell research is exemplified by this study, where stem cells would self-assemble into 3D structures and then integrate into existing tissues," says Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte.

While such clinical use may be years away, this new method has several advantages over current techniques, he explains. It is safer, since it does not seem to produce tumors or other undesirable genetic changes, and results in much greater yield than other methods. Most important, it is faster, and this is part of what makes it not only more productive, but less risky.

"Generally it can take up to two months to create iPSCs and their differentiated derivatives, which increases the chances for mutations to take place," says Emmanuel Nivet, the third of the first co-authors. "Our method takes only 15 days, so we've substantially decreased the chances for spontaneous mutations to take place."

Other researchers on the study were: Aitor Aguirre, Krystal Moon, Caroline Pendaries, Cecile Volle-Challier, Francoise Bono, Jean-Marc Herbert, Julian Pulecio, Yun Xia, Mo Li, Nuria Montserrat, Sergio Ruiz, Ilir Dubova, Concepcion Rodriguez, Ahmet M. Denli, Francesca S. Boscolo, Rathi D. Thiagarajan, Jeanne F. Loring and Louise C. Laurent.

The work was supported by: the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine; the F.M. Kirby Foundation; National Institutes of Health; the Hartwell Foundation; the Millipore Foundation; the Esther O'Keeffe Charitable Trust Foundation; Fundacion Cellex; the G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Charitable Foundation; The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, Sanofi; and the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad.

About the Salk Institute for Biological Studies:

The Salk Institute for Biological Studies is one of the world's preeminent basic research institutions, where internationally renowned faculty probe fundamental life science questions in a unique, collaborative, and creative environment. Focused both on discovery and on mentoring future generations of researchers, Salk scientists make groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of cancer, aging, Alzheimer's, diabetes and infectious diseases by studying neuroscience, genetics, cell and plant biology, and related disciplines.

Faculty achievements have been recognized with numerous honors, including Nobel Prizes and memberships in the National Academy of Sciences. Founded in 1960 by polio vaccine pioneer Jonas Salk, M.D., the Institute is an independent nonprofit organization and architectural landmark.

How 'transparent' is graphene?

How 'transparent' is graphene?

MIT researchers find that adding a coating of graphene has little
effect on how a surface interacts with liquids - except in extreme cases

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The amazing electrical, optical and strength properties of graphene, a single-atom-thick
layer of carbon, have been extensively researched over the last decade.
Recently, the material has been studied as a coating that might confer
electrical conductivity while maintaining other properties of the underlying
material.

But the "transparency" of such a graphene coating to wetting — a measure of
the degree to which liquids spread out or bead up on a surface — is not as
absolute as some researchers had thought. New research at MIT shows that for
materials with intermediate wettability, graphene does preserve the properties
of the underlying material. But for more extreme cases — superhydrophobic
surfaces, which intensely repel water, or superhydrophilic ones, which cause
water to spread out — an added layer of graphene does significantly change the
way coated materials behave.

That's important,
because these extreme cases are generally of greatest interest. For example,
coating a superhydrophobic material with graphene was seen as a possible way of
making electronic circuits that would be protected from short-circuiting and
corrosion in water. But it's not quite that simple, the new research shows.

The findings were
recently published in the journal Physical Review Letters by professors
Daniel Blankschtein and Michael Strano, graduate student Chih-Jeh Shih, and
three other MIT postdocs and students.

Blankschtein, the
Herman P. Meissner '29 Professor of Chemical Engineering, has studied wetting
properties for a long time. He had not previously examined graphene, but
decided to explore its wettability now that it's a material of great interest
to researchers.

Because graphene's
transparency to wettability turned out not to be perfect, Blankschtein says,
"this finding may be viewed as a negative result." But, he adds,
"it is nevertheless extremely important to the scientific community,
because it [shows] what can actually be accomplished in practice."

Most electrically
conductive materials, he points out, are hydrophilic: Water spreads readily on
them, thoroughly wetting the surface. "On the other hand," he says,
"for many electronic and military applications, it is important to
fabricate hydrophobic, electrically conductive surfaces." And while
graphene's transparency to wettability is not perfect, it may still be good
enough for such applications, he says.

This research, which
included both theoretical modeling and experimental confirmation, shows that by
depositing a large graphene sheet, grown by a process called chemical vapor
deposition, on another material's surface, "it would be possible to induce
electrical conductivity on the surface, while partially preserving the desired
surface wetting behavior," Blankschtein says. In fact, he adds, the
contact angle of such a surface — the measure of how well it prevents wetting —
"is believed to be one of the highest attainable on a flat, electrically
conductive surface to date."

Shih, the lead author
of the paper, says, "We have demonstrated that the wettability of a
transparent, graphene-coated surface can be manipulated without undermining its
thermal/electrical conductivity." That's useful because "in general,
conductive surfaces have very high wettability due to their high surface
tension, and it is generally very challenging to produce a
thermally/electrically conductive surface with tunable wettability" —
wettability that can be controlled almost at will.

The team describes this
partial transmission of the underlying characteristics as
"translucency," rather than transparency, of wettability.

By selecting a
particular combination of an underlying material with a graphene coating,
different combinations of electrical, optical and wetting characteristics can
be achieved, Shih says: "People can control the wetting properties of the
substrate … this breakthrough successfully decouples the conductivity and
wettability of a material."

What's more, this opens
up new possibilities for practical devices, because the materials involved are
already widely used in industry, Shih says: "Due to its compatibility with
today's semiconductor processes, many exciting opportunities may be pursued in
the areas of microelectronics, nanoscale heat transfer and microfluidic devices
— to simultaneously engineer desired wettability, heat transfer and electronic
transport."

Blankschtein emphasizes
that in addition to the potential applications, "I'm excited about this
from a fundamental point of view." It shows, he says, that "you can't
assume that you can just take a substrate and drop graphene on it without
perturbing the wetting behavior." By understanding this complex behavior,
"we can learn how to take advantage of that."

###

The work, which also
involved MIT postdocs Qing Hua Wang, Shangchao Lin and Zhong Jin and graduate
student Kyoo-Chul
Park, was supported by
the Office of Naval Research, the National Science Foundation and MIT's
Institute for Soldier Nanotechnology.

Public release date: 3-Dec-2012


Contact: Caroline McCall, MIT Media Relations

cmccall5@mit.edu

Massachusetts
Institute of Technology

 

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-12/miot-hi120312.php

Candle flames contain millions of tiny diamonds so candles are a girl's next best friend;

Candle flames contain millions of tiny diamonds August 18, 2011                                                           

(PhysOrg.com) -- The flickering flame of a candle has generated comparisons with the twinkling sparkle of diamonds for centuries, but new research has discovered the likeness owes more to science than the dreams of poets.                                                           

Professor Wuzong Zhou, Professor of Chemistry at the University of St Andrews has discovered tiny diamond particles exist in candle flames. His research has made a scientific leap towards solving a mystery which has befuddled people for thousands of years. Since the first candle was invented in ancient China more than 2,000 years ago, many have longed to know what hidden secrets its flames contained. Dr Zhou’s investigation revealed around 1.5 million diamond nanoparticles are created every second in a candle flame as it burns. The leading academic revealed he uncovered the secret ingredient after a challenge from a fellow scientist in combustion. Dr Zhou said: “A colleague at another university said to me: “Of course no-one knows what a candle flame is actually made of.“I told him I believed science could explain everything eventually, so I decided to find out.”Using a new sampling technique, assisted by his student Mr Zixue Su, he invented himself, he was able to remove particles from the centre of the flame – something never successfully achieved before – and found to his surprise that a candle flame contains all four known forms of carbon. Dr Zhou said: "This was a surprise because each form is usually created under different conditions." At the bottom of the flame, it was already known that hydro-carbon molecules existed which were converted into carbon dioxide by the top of the flame. But the process in between remained a mystery. Now both diamond nanoparticles and fullerenic particles have been discovered in the centre of the flame, along with graphitic and amorphous carbon. The discovery could lead to future research into how diamonds, a key substance in industry, could be created more cheaply, and in a more environmentally friendly way. Dr Zhou added: “Unfortunately the diamond particles are burned away in the process, and converted into carbon dioxide, but this will change the way we view a candle flame forever.”The famous scientist Michael Faraday in his celebrated 19th century lectures on “The Chemical History of a Candle” said in an 1860 address to the light: “You have the glittering beauty of gold and silver, and the still higher lustre of jewels, like the ruby and diamond; but none of these rival the brilliancy and beauty of flame. What diamond can shine like flame?”Rosey Barnet, Artistic Director of one of Scotland’s biggest candle manufacturers, Shearer Candles, described the finding as "exciting". She said: "We were thrilled to hear about the discovery that diamond particles exist in a candle flame. "Although currently there is no way of extracting these particles, it is still an exciting find and one that could change the way people view candles. The research at St Andrews University will be of interest to the entire candle making industry. We always knew candles added sparkle to a room but now scientific research has provided us with more insight into why.” Provided by University of St Andrews

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2011-08-candle-flames-millions-tiny-diamonds.html#jCp

Stem cells develop best in 3-D

Scientists from the Danish Stem Cell Center at the University of Copenhagen are
contributing important knowledge about how stem cells develop best into
insulin-producing cells. In the long term this new knowledge can improve
diabetes treatment with cell therapy. The results have just been published in
the scientific journal Cell Reports.

Contact: Anne
Grapin-Botton

anne.grapin-botton@sund.ku.dk

(45) 29-63-43-98

University of Copenhagen

http://news.ku.dk/all_news/2012/2012.11/stem_cells_develop_best_in_3d/

 

2012-11-21

Stem cells develop
best in 3D

THREE-DIMENSIONAL

Scientists from The Danish Stem Cell Center
(DanStem) at the University
of Copenhagen are
contributing important knowledge about how stem cells develop best into
insulin-producing cells. In the long term this new knowledge can improve
diabetes treatment with cell therapy. The results have just been published in
the scientific journal Cell Reports.

Stem cells are responsible for tissue growth and tissue repair after injury. Therefore, the discovery that these vital cells grow better in a three-dimensional environment is important for the
future treatment of disease with stem cell therapy.

"We can see that the quality of the
cells produced two-dimensionally is not good enough. By putting the cells in a
three-dimensional environment and giving them the proper growth conditions, we
get much better results. Therefore we are developing a three-dimensional
culture medium in gelatine in the laboratory to mimic the one inside an
embryo," says Professor Anne Grapin-Botton from DanStem at the University
of Copenhagen, who produced the
results together with colleagues from Switzerland
and Belgium.

The international research team hopes that
the new knowledge about three-dimensional cell growth environments can make a
significant contribution to the development of cell therapies for treating
diabetes. In the long term this knowledge can also be used to develop stem cell
treatments for chronic diseases in internal organs such as the liver or lungs.
Like the pancreas, these organs are developed from stem cells in 3D.

From stem cells to specialised cells

The research team has investigated how the
three-dimensional organisation of tissue in the early embryonic stage
influences development from stem cells to more specialised cells.

"We can see that the pancreas looks
like a beautiful little tree with branches. Stem cells along the branches need
this structure to be able to create insulin-producing cells in the embryo. Our
research suggests that in the laboratory beta cells can develop better from
stem cells in 3D than if we try to get them to develop flat in a Petri
dish," explains Professor Grapin-Botton.

"Attempts to develop functional beta
cells in 2D have unfortunately most often resulted in poorly functioning cells.
Our results from developing cells in 3D have yielded promising results and are
therefore an important step on the way to developing cell therapies for
treating diabetes."



The research is supported by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, Swiss National
Research Foundation, and the National Institute of Health (NIH), USA.

The results from the paper "Planar
Cell Polarity Controls Pancreatic Beta Cell Differentiation and Glucose
Homeostasis" have just been published in the scientific journal Cell Reports.

Contact:

Professor Anne Grapin-Botton

Mobile phone: +45 29634398

 

New electrically-conductive polymer nanoparticles can generate heat to kill colorectal cancer cells

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., – Nov. 20, 2012 – Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have modified electrically-conductive polymers, commonly used in solar energy applications, to develop revolutionary polymer nanoparticles (PNs) for a medical application. When the nanoparticles are exposed to infrared light, they generate heat that can be used to kill colorectal cancer cells.

The study was directed by Assistant Professor of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Nicole H. Levi-Polyachenko, Ph.D., and done in collaboration with colleagues at the Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials at Wake Forest University. This study was recently published online, ahead of print, in the journal, Macromolecular Bioscience (DOI: 10.1002/mabi.201200241).

Levi-Polyachenko and her team discovered a novel formulation that gives the polymers two important capabilities for medical applications: the polymers can be made into nanoparticles that are easily dispersed in water and generate a lot of heat when exposed to infrared light. 

Results of this study showed that when colorectal cancer cells incubated with the PNs were exposed to five minutes of infrared light, the treatment killed up to 95 percent of cells.  "The results of this study demonstrate how new medical advancements are being developed from materials science research," said Levi-Polyachenko.

The team made polymer nanoparticles and showed that they could undergo repeated cycles of heating and cooling without affecting their heating ability. This offers advantages over metal nanoparticles, which can melt during photothermal treatments, leading to a loss of heating efficiency.  This also allows for subsequent treatments to target cells that are resistant to heat-induced killing.  

A challenge with other electrically-conductive polymers that have recently been explored for photothermal therapy is that these other polymers absorb across a wide range of infrared light.  Christopher M. MacNeill, Ph.D., post-doctoral researcher at Wake Forest and first author on the paper, noted that, "we have specifically used electrically-conductive polymers designed to absorb a very narrow region of infrared light, and have also developed small, 50-65nm, polymer nanoparticles in order to optimize both biological transport as well as heat transfer." For example, 50nm is about 2000 times smaller than a human hair.

In addition, the new PNs are organic and did not show any evidence of toxicity, alleviating concerns about the effect of nanoparticles that may potentially linger in the body.

"There is a lot more research that needs to be done so that these new nanoparticles can be used safely in patients," Levi-Polyachenko cautioned, "but the field of electrically-conductive polymers is broad and offers many opportunities to develop safe, organic nanoparticles for generating heat locally in a tissue. We are very enthusiastic about future medical applications using these new nanoparticles, including an alternative approach for treating colorectal cancer."

 

###

The study was funded by the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center