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Category: nanotechnology – Page 2

Sugarcoated nanoparticles show promise for treating most aggressive form of brain cancer

Sugar-coated nanoparticles show promise against glioblastoma.

Researchers have developed mannose-coated lipid nanoparticles capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier and delivering therapeutic PTEN mRNA directly to glioblastoma cells, one of the deadliest forms of brain cancer.

Glioblastoma cells have an exceptionally high demand for glucose. By coating the nanoparticles with a sugar molecule called mannose, the researchers took advantage of this metabolic feature, allowing the particles to enter the brain more efficiently and accumulate within tumors.

Once inside the cancer cells, the nanoparticles restored production of PTEN, a critical tumor-suppressor protein that is frequently lost or dysfunctional in glioblastoma. In mouse models, this approach significantly slowed tumor growth, increased median survival by approximately 50%, and showed no measurable toxicity in major organs.

Although these findings are still preclinical and have not yet been tested in humans, they represent an exciting advance in overcoming one of neuro-oncology’s greatest challenges: safely delivering targeted therapies across the blood-brain barrier.

PORTLAND, Ore. – Researchers at Oregon State University have potentially found a new way to treat the most aggressive form of brain cancer, glioblastoma, whose two-year survival rate is less than 30%.

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This sugar-coated therapy boosted survival against deadly brain cancer by 50% in mice

A new experimental treatment may have found a way to outsmart glioblastoma’s toughest defense: the blood-brain barrier. Researchers used sugar-coated nanoparticles to ferry genetic instructions that restore a key tumor-suppressing protein directly into brain cancer cells. In mouse studies, the therapy increased median survival by 50% while shrinking tumors without noticeable damage to other organs.

Graphene nanoribbons survive gamma radiation, revealing potential sensors for fusion reactors

University of Arizona researchers have demonstrated a promising new application for graphene nanoribbons, a nanoscale semiconductor material with the potential to withstand extreme environments. The team’s findings could help clear a key hurdle to bringing fusion energy to the electric grid.

For the proof-of-concept study, published in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, the researchers integrated the nanoribbons, known as GNRs, into semiconductor devices and exposed them to gamma radiation. Their results suggest that the ribbons could serve as radiation sensors for fusion reactors and in deep space, where intense radiation challenges existing technologies and close monitoring of material degradation could help keep critical systems operating reliably.

“The devices survive the exposure and still respond, but their electrical performance changes dramatically,” said principal investigator Zafer Mutlu, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Arizona College of Engineering. “That’s exactly the behavior we want from a sensor.”

Scientists achieve all-electrical control of single-molecule quantum states

Quantum technologies promise revolutionary advances in computing, sensing and information processing. However, controlling individual quantum bits (qubits) at the atomic scale remains a major challenge because conventional approaches rely on magnetic fields, which are difficult to confine to a single molecule.

A research team at the Center for Quantum Nanoscience (QNS), led by Director Andreas Heinrich at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), together with collaborators at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), has demonstrated that the quantum state of an individual magnetic molecule can instead be controlled electrically using a newly identified exchange-mediated mechanism. The study published in Nature Physics provides a new strategy for electrically controlling molecular quantum systems and could help pave the way for more scalable quantum technologies.

Magnetic molecules are considered attractive building blocks for future quantum technologies because they are only a few nanometers in size, can self-assemble into ordered structures and can be chemically tailored to possess desired quantum properties. These characteristics make them promising candidates for molecular quantum computing, quantum sensing and spintronic applications.

Sugar-Coated Nanoparticles Shrink Deadly Brain Tumors in Mice

Cancers don’t come much worse than the brain cancer glioblastoma, and it is notoriously difficult to treat. Even with surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, fewer than 30 percent of patients are alive two years after diagnosis.

Scientists are busy hunting for treatment approaches that can improve those survival rates, and a team from Oregon State University has now found a potential new angle for attacking these tumors: sugar-coated nanoparticles.

As detailed in a mouse study published in the Journal of Controlled Release, the sugar ‘disguise’ used by the nanoparticles helps them cross the blood-brain barrier to the site of cancer, while also directly targeting glioblastoma and avoiding measurable toxicity in major organs.

Immune cells get transformed into fungus-fighting nanoparticles

Tiny particles made from the membranes of human immune cells could offer a promising new way to fight fungal infections that are becoming harder to treat. Engineers at the University of California San Diego created antifungal nanoparticles that target Candida albicans, a fungus responsible for oral and vaginal yeast infections as well as life-threatening bloodstream infections. In mice with severe Candida infections, the nanoparticles greatly reduced the amount of fungus in major organs and significantly improved survival.

The research, published in Cell Biomaterials, was led by Liangfang Zhang, a professor in the Aiiso Yufeng Li Family Department of Chemical and Nano Engineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, who also holds the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Chancellor’s Endowed Chair in Innovations for Engineering in Medicine.

DNA origami turns secret messages into nano–Morse code that acts as multiplayer molecular encryption

Mathematics has always been at the core of securing information. From online banking to government communications, modern society relies on cryptography, in which complex mathematical algorithms transform readable information into an unreadable form to keep it secure. But as computing power grows and quantum technology advances, these mathematical safeguards are increasingly vulnerable to being broken. That’s where biology stepped in.

Choosing DNA as their information protector, researchers from China developed a multilayer encryption device that takes advantage of the double-helix molecule’s programmable nature to create an origami structure that can store information with high security.

This new system used tiny, custom-built rectangular structures made of DNA, in which researchers stored the message as dots and dashes, creating a nanoscale version of Morse code. To hide the message further, they turned the flat DNA origami surfaces into tubes, physically blocking the patterns from being read or imaged. With the help of a matching unlocking key, the recipient can trigger a reaction that unrolls the DNA back to its flat form, allowing them to read and verify the message.

Computer-guided electricity rapidly transforms flat nanofilms into 3D shapes on demand

Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan have developed a method to form dome-shaped bumps on nanofilms in water using a computer-guided electron beam. The bumps form within 10 seconds and can be flattened, reshaped or repositioned as needed.

This method may enable computer-guided manipulation of nanomachines for uses such as microscale touch sensing, guiding cellular growth and direct assembly of colloidal particles. The findings were published in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.

Existing approaches each have drawbacks: Light-based techniques typically take 60 seconds or more per shape change, while electrical methods rely on fixed electrodes that restrict where reshaping can occur and limit the size of the change.

Reimagining the furnace: How a new magnetic design could supercharge industrial plasma

Imagine trying to trap a miniature star inside a machine without letting it touch the walls or burn itself out. This is the central, high-stakes challenge of high-temperature plasma engineering.

High-temperature plasma systems are crucial for modern industry. They serve as the foundation for manufacturing semiconductors, synthesizing advanced nanomaterials and testing materials meant for extreme environments. However, for decades, these systems have been held back by three major engineering bottlenecks: low energy-conversion efficiency, chaotic plasma instability and rapid material degradation caused by punishing heat.

In my recent paper published in IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, I set out to tackle these limitations by designing a completely new type of non-nuclear reactor: the Spherical Magnetically Stabilized Plasma Furnace, or SMSPF. My initial goal was to step away from traditional linear or cylindrical reactor designs to see whether a spherical geometry could inherently solve containment issues.

The Future Will Be Shaped By Accelerated Technological Development And Visionary Leadership

Chuck Brooks is the president of Brooks Consulting International and one of Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Experts.

We are on the brink of a transformative era where rising technologies are colliding to create unparalleled innovation. artificial intelligence, nanotechnology and quantum technologies are transforming research and development, expediting prototyping and disrupting various industries.

This convergence, propelled by exponential processing power, molecular precision and intelligent systems, promises trillions in economic value while posing significant concerns in security, ethics and labor preparedness.

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