Researchers develop nano-sized 'cargo ships' to target and destroy tumors

User rating: 4.9 / 5 after 50 vote(s)

The nanometer-sized cargo ships look individually like a chocolate-covered nut cluster in which a biocompatible lipid forms the chocolate shell and magnetic nanoparticles quantum dots and the drug doxorubicin are the nuts. Credit: Ji-Ho Park UCSD
The nanometer-sized cargo ships look individually like a chocolate-covered nut cluster, in which a biocompatible lipid forms the chocolate shell and magnetic nanoparticles, quantum dots and the drug doxorubicin are the nuts. Credit: Ji-Ho Park, UCSD

Scientists have developed nanometer-sized 'cargo ships' that can sail throughout the body via the bloodstream without immediate detection from the body's immune radar system and ferry their cargo of anti-cancer drugs and markers into tumors that might otherwise go untreated or undetected.


Full story »

All News summaries from Nanotechnology news
All News summaries for September 12, 2008

Nontoxic nanoparticle can deliver and track drugs

Nov 18, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
A nontoxic nanoparticle developed by Penn State researchers is proving to be an all-around effective delivery system for both therapeutic drugs and the fluorescent dyes that can track their delivery.

Nanocoatings boost industrial energy efficiency

Nov 18, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
Friction is the bane of any machine. When moving parts are subject to friction, it takes more energy to move them, the machine doesn't operate as efficiently, and the parts have a tendency to wear out over ...

Can a single molecule behave as a mirror?

Nov 18, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- “We have shown for the first time, theoretically, that a single molecule can behave as a perfect mirror,” Mario Agio tells PhysOrg.com. “Imagine that your mirror at home becomes a single molecule and ...

Toward a new generation of paper-thin loudspeakers

Nov 17, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
In research that may redefine ear buds, earphones, stereo loudspeakers, and other devices for producing sound, researchers in China are reporting development of flexible loudspeakers thinner than paper that ...

Nanoparticles Deliver Their Cargo, Then Disappear

Nov 15, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- Medical researchers are looking at any number of new methods to get drugs to specific locations in the body. Some methods are efficient but less safe, while others are safe but often fail ...