nanotechnology

UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country researchers are using nanotechnology for therapeutic purposes.

This shows the expression of the retinoschisis protein (green) after the transfection of a cell line of retina pigment epithelium (ARPE-19) with a lipid nanoparticle-based formulation with the RS1 gene....

Cancer Research UK scientists have for the first time developed a treatment that transports 'tumour busting' genes selectively to cancer cells, according to a study published online in Cancer Research*. Using nanotechnology, the researchers were able to package anti-cancer genes in very small particles that directed the treatment selectively to tumours in mice so that it was only taken up by cancer cells, leaving healthy cells unharmed. Once taken up by cancer cells, the genes enclosed in the nanoparticles force the cell to produce proteins that can kill the cancer.