Showing posts with label Nanoparticles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nanoparticles. Show all posts

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Scorpion Venom Plus Nanoparticles Fight Brain Cancer



Compounds inside scorpion venom have come under intense scientific scrutiny over the years, since it was discovered that certain combinations had the ability to stop the spread of brain-cancer tumors. By combining this knowledge with recent advancements in nanoparticle technologies, researchers at the University of Washington (UW) have created a substance that is able to fight the spread of tumors with a 98-percent efficiency, as opposed to the 45 percent registered when using venom alone.

The active ingredient inside the venom is a small peptide known as chlorotoxin, which has been in use for quite some time now. It acts by binding with certain proteins, known as MMP-2, that are over-expressed by tumors, and annihilates the cancer's ability to spread. When chlorotoxin and MMP-2 bind, they are both sucked in the cancerous cell and, deprived of it's external “agent,” the tumor cannot grow.

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Nanoparticles illuminate brain tumors for days under MRI

A research team is demonstrating some of the world's first clinical applications for nanometer-size particles in the brain. The scientists have shown that an iron oxide nanoparticle as small as a virus can outline not only brain tumors under magnetic resonance imaging, but also other lesions in the brain that may otherwise have gone unnoticed, according to a study published in the journal Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology.From the Oregon Health & Science University :Nanoparticles illuminate brain tumors for days under MRI.