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Articles on Nanoparticles

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Identifying the commonalities between cardiovascular disease and cancer could lead to improved treatments for both. Sveta Zi/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Could a single drug treat the two leading causes of death in the US: cancer and cardiovascular disease?

Cardiovascular disease and cancer share many parallels in their origins and how they develop. Nanoparticles offer one potential way to effectively treat both with reduced side effects.
Nanoparticles (white disks) can be used to deliver treatment to cells (blue). Brenda Melendez and Rita Serda/National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health

Nanomedicines for various diseases are in development – but research facilities produce vastly inconsistent results on how the body will react to them

The proteins that cover nanoparticles are essential to understanding how they work in the body. Across 17 proteomics facilities in the US, less than 2% of the identified proteins were identical.
Tellurium pieces. Jan Askeit / Wikimedia

How metal-munching microbes help the rare, toxic element tellurium circulate in the environment

Tellurium is a critical mineral for renewable energy – but little is known about its environmental effects and how it circulates in the wild.
Nanoparticles can help cancer drugs home in on tumors and avoid damaging healthy cells. Kateryna Kon/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

Nanoparticles are the future of medicine – researchers are experimenting with new ways to design tiny particle treatments for cancer

The COVID-19 mRNA vaccines put nanomedicine in the spotlight as a potential way to treat diseases like cancer and HIV. While the field isn’t there yet, better design could help fulfill its promise.
We interact with nanoparticles in multiple ways every day. The nanoparticles in this illustration are delivering drugs to cells. (Shutterstock)

The nanoparticles in mRNA vaccines are nothing to fear: We interact with many useful, tiny particles every day

Some vaccine hesitancy is based on a fear of the nanoparticles used in mRNA vaccines. But humans have been interacting with nanoparticles for millennia, and we use nanotechnology-based devices every day.
Red quantum dots glow inside a rat brain cell. Nanoscale Advances, 2019, 1, 3424 - 3442

Quantum dots that light up TVs could be used for brain research

These tiny nanoparticles might provide a new way to see what’s happening in the brain and even deliver treatments to specific cells – if researchers figure out how to use them safely and effectively.
Magnetotactic bacteria owe their special property to the magnetic nanoparticles they contain. Andy Tay

Magnetic bacteria and their unique superpower attract researchers

These single-celled organisms naturally respond to the Earth’s weak magnetic field. Scientists are untangling how it all works, looking to future biomedical and other engineering applications.
Section of a tumor observed with an optical microscope. The two white forms with brown borders are blood vessels. Inside, gold nanoparticles accumulate against their walls. Mariana Varna-Pannerec (ESPCI)

Destroying tumors with gold nanoparticles

Gold can be used to make jewelry, but also to fight cancer. Several clinical trials are currently underway in the United States where patients are being treated with gold nanoparticles.
The colour of gold nanoparticles in suspension varies according to the size of the nanoparticles. Valeg96

Why nanotechnology is more than just a buzzword

Nanotechnology brings together multiple science disciplines to create devices that mimic the refinements of nature. It’s difficult – and exhilarating.

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