Tag Archives: nanotechnology

Nanotechnology: The Cure for Cancer?

Posted on February 20, 2016 by | 2 comments

What is Cancer (disease)?

Cancer is a very well known disease plaguing human society for the last century. It is characterized by abnormally rapid cell division often accompanied by tumor growth; the type of tumor mainly being malignant to be more precise. It is

Cigarette, Source: Wikimedia Commons

Cigarette, Source: Wikimedia Commons

known to sprout from sources known as carcinogen (such as ultraviolet radiation and smoking cigarettes) as well as genetic dispositions.

 

Current Treatment

Current treatments are quite limited and do not have an 100% success rate since there are so many mutations and varieties in cancer. Treatments such as chemotherapy often have lasting side effects. Additionally, there is a likelihood that cancerous cells are not completely eradicated and may resurface in years to come.

The following is the background behind chemotherapy and the effects it has on the human body provided by Dnews on YouTube.

What the Future Holds?

What scientists are trying to obtain is a sustainable as well as safe method of treating cancer. Scientists are looking into stem cell research, protein inhibition (protein Kinase inhibition) and artificial intelligence as potential methods. But, perhaps one of the most promising of the potential treatments is nanotechnology.

*Credit to Inquisitr.com for providing these different potential treatment methods.*

Nanotechnology and Cancer Treatment

Nanoparticles are as small as cell organelles with great flexibility when it

Mesoporous silica, Source: Wikimedia Commons

Mesoporous silica, Source: Wikimedia Commons

comes to shape, size and composition. Research by scientists have found a mesoporous silicon nano particle that is able to encase azobenzene molecules within its membrane pores as well as carry different sized substrates inside the particle itself.  It is important to note the fact that azobenzene switches its orientation/ configuration (cis/trans) when exposed to light and its size changes when going from cis to trans. This  means that the permeability of the silica nanoparticle can be regulated by the azobenzene molecular configuration.  Small pellets of anti-cancer drugs can be inserted into the silica nanoparticles and injected into the human body. With controlled light exposure and intensity, the size of azobenzene changes releasing the substrate into the cancer cell targeting either just the cancerous components or the entire cell.  The following video uploaded by FGRGAnimation made by Frank Gu from the University of Waterloo outlines the process of osmosis and cell substrate concentration in regulating and controlling transport in a nanoparticle.

This process will be safe due to the high control levels in the real (in vivo) environment. We are able to selectively insert the amount of substrate into the nanoparticles to control concentration and light intensity. Thus, the correct dosage is always applied. Interestingly, the treatment  process can be both selective or general meaning scientists are able to use substrate specifically targeting cancerous components in a cell or the entire cancer cell.

Although the focus was on nanoparticles and nanotechnology, any of the the aforementioned 4 methods can be an important breakthrough in cancer treatments if proven experimentally successful.

Posted by Ming Lun (Allan) Zhu

 

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Posted in Biological Sciences, Issues in Science, Science Communication

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Nanotechnology: The Future of Electronics?

Posted on February 8, 2016 by | 1 comment

Nanotechnology involves materials and compounds that are on a nanoscale, 1-100 nanometers (10^-9 m). Due to the extremity in size, these materials have unique properties that can benefit the electronics industry. The world around us is made up of atoms and molecules, so it is essential that we learn to manipulate them in order to benefit our society.

A nanotube. Source: Google Images

On the nanoscale, materials experience “quantum effects” and their behaviour and properties depend on size. As a result, desired characteristics of these nanomaterials can be fine-tuned by simply changing the size of the particle. This unique trait of nanomaterials is referred to as “tunability“, which is what makes this technology so relevant and applicable in all fields of science. Some examples of properties that are altered are: melting point, fluorescence, electrical conductivity, magnetic permeability, and chemical reactivity. For the purpose of this blog post, I will only be discussing the importance of nanotecnology in the electronics industry.

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The application of nanotechnology in electronics could potentially improve the capabilities of electronic components while simultaneously reducing their weight and overall power consumption. Here are 2 relevant examples:

  1. Improving electronic display screens on devices such as phones, computers and tablets. The key will be reducing power consumption, as well as the weight and thickness of the screen.
  2. Increasing the memory density of computerised chips. Researchers are currently attempting to raise the bar by providing 1 terabyte of memory space per square inch of the chip.

As both scientists and society progress in the field of nanotechnology; the dream will be to one day possess unlimited function and power in the palm of our hands.

 

-Siriwat Chhem

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Type 1 Diabetes: A Potential Cure?

Posted on February 1, 2016 by | 5 comments

Type 1 Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus type 1, is a condition characterized by the impaired ability of one’s pancreas to produce insulin. In an individual with type 1 diabetes, the immune system malfunctions and attacks the beta cells of the pancreas, which are responsible for producing insulin. This classifies type 1 diabetes as an autoimmune disease, which is where the immune system attacks the body, thus it is currently incurable. The current treatment for this condition involves daily injections of insulin to allow the individual to regulate their blood sugar levels. Unfortunately, insulin therapy has side effects, such as hypoglycemia (low blood glucose levels) or hyperglycemia (high blood glucose levels) from incorrect dosages, and some individuals may be allergic to the preservatives added to insulin medication. Furthermore, insulin therapy involves precise control of blood sugar levels, and this is very difficult to achieve, often causing patients to face long-term medical problems as a result.

Diagram of the pancreas and beta cells. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Diagram of the pancreas and beta cells. Via Wikimedia Commons.

So what is this new potential cure? It began in 2014, when a team of Harvard University researchers used human stem cells, unspecialized cells that can become cells with a specific function, to create new beta cells in large quantities, as published in Cell. This new technique of creating insulin producing cells from human embryonic stem cells was a big step in diabetes research. In further experiments, these beta cells were transplanted into diabetic mice, as an attempt to replace the destroyed beta cells. Unfortunately, the immune system in the mice destroyed these new beta cells as well.

The experiments were first done on lab mice. Via Wikimedia Commons.

The experiments were first done on lab mice. Via Wikimedia Commons.

A team of researchers from MIT and several other institutions have devised an “invisibility cloak” for the beta cells, so they can hide from the faulty immune system. The cloak is composed of modified alginate, which is a material isolated from brown algae. After testing 800 various derivatives of this alginate capsule, they chose the best capsule from the tests, known as triazole-thiomorpholine dioxide (TMTD). This research was shown in a recently posted article in the Nature Biotechnology journal.

Brown algae that form the alginate used in "invisibility cloak". Via Wikimedia Commons.

Brown algae that form the alginate used in “invisibility cloak”. Via Wikimedia Commons.

The results were incredible! As a study in Nature Medicine showed, the injected mice were able to produce insulin until the implants were removed 174 days later. This has massive implications for diabetes therapy, as not being dependent on insulin injections is the end goal. If these implants were able to function in humans, then the diabetic individuals would not require insulin injections anymore. The next step of research is to move from trials on mice to trials on primates. If the tests on primates show positive results, the step after would be human trials. Researchers are making large strides towards a cure for type 1 diabetes.

– Kush Khanna

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