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3D printing: Improvising the Next-generation Batteries

Posted in 3D Plotting Scaffolds, 3D Printing for Medical Application, tagged , , , , on August 8, 2021| Leave a Comment »

3D printing: Improvising the Next-generation Batteries

Reporter: Vaishnavee Joshi BSc and MSc.

Batteries are the building blocks of 21st-century technology; it has been with us for a long time. The true significance of the batteries can be traced down to the 1800s when the first true battery was invented by the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta. With the pace of time and invention, many great contributions were made in the production and advancement of batteries. The two great leaps that are a first great leap forward:

  • Lithium-ion batteries and second leap forward:
  • Nanotechnology, completely transformed the production.

What began as an experiment, developed as an indispensable item in our world.

Dawn of 3-D printing technology

Astonishingly, the rapid growth in high throughput computer-aided technology and the earliest 3D printing manufacturing equipment which was developed by Hideo Kodama increased the development of three broad types of 3D manufacturing technologies that is :

  • Sintering,
  • Melting
  • Stereolithography.

3-D printing, also known as additive manufacturing is a method of creating a 3D object layer by layer using a computer created design since the last decade 3D printed batteries have been an area of interest for both consumer electronics and electric vehicles. The benefit of 3D printing of batteries are that the production of batteries is flexible, customizable for one particular application and printing can save weight or reduce mass, and even higher energy densities can be achieved by transforming the internal topologies. Production and research in 3D printing technologies are at their highest peaks in Asia and America many American firms considers battery 3D printing to be a publicly traded U.S branch.

Blackstone Resources AG(Swx: BLS) is a Swiss holding company focused on battery technology and metals they are creating processes tagged as Blackstone thick layer technology for 3D printing lithium-ion batteries. The patented process can fabricate both electrolyte and solid-state batteries and also cutting the expenditure by 70  percent the other demonstrated organizations that are located at Canada, Peru, Mongolia. It also claims to have begun exploring several minerals

https://www.blackstoneresources.ch/activities/battery-technology/lack

Sakuu Corporation

A bay area start up that developed a unique Blackstone thick layer technology that process and combines materials such as ceramics and metals for a variety of applications. It also claims that the production of lithium SSBs can be manufactured at scale using its multi-material multi-method (4M) technology. it uses standard cathode materials but in the future, it will also feature higher voltage cathodes with the potential of 25 % more energy the firms also states that “They are focused on finishing the platform that can do it.

We are working in parallel with all of the battery chemistry and everything else

Blackstone and Sakuu are some of many firms that are competing in re-creating and patenting the 3D printing methods. Nevertheless, the 4M technology of Sakuu holds a promising future in the world of lithium batteries with this elixir the applications are immense and beyond the scope.   

SOURCES

First Lithium Solid State Battery Produced by 3D Printing Startup Sakuu

2. Battery 3D printing firm considers publicly traded U.S. branch. June 22,20121, Michael Molitch-Hou, 3D printing. LIVE

Battery 3D Printing Firm Considers Publicly Traded U.S. Branch

3. 3D printed batteries: here comes the future. August 10, 2020, Jeff Butler.

3D printed batteries: here comes the future

4. The history and development of batteries. April 30, 2015, Jose Alarco and Peter Talbot

https://phys.org/news/2015-04-history-batteries.html

5. Sakuu to Release Multi-Material, Multi-Process Battery 3D Printer

3dprint.com/281555/sakuu-to-release-multi-material-multi-process-3d-printer-for-fabricating-e-mobility-batteries/

Sakuu to Release Multi-Material, Multi-Process Battery 3D Printer

Other related articles published in this Open Access Online Scientific Journal include the following:

Series E, Volume Four: Medical 3D BioPrinting – The Revolution in Medicine, Technologies for Patient-centered Medicine: From R&D in Biologics to New Medical Devices

Editors: Larry H Bernstein, MD, FCAP and Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

Available on Kindle Store @ Amazon.com since 12/30/2017

  • Volume 4: Medical 3D BioPrinting – The Revolution in Medicine, Technologies for Patient-centered Medicine: From R&D in Biologics to New Medical Devices. On Amazon.com since 12/30/2017

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Non-toxic antiviral nanoparticles with a broad spectrum of virus inhibition

Posted in Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Antibiotic resistance, Cell Biology, Disease Biology, Small Molecules in Development of Therapeutic Drugs, Enzyme Induction, Infectious Disease & New Antibiotic Targets, Infectious Disease Immunodiagnostics, Nanotechnology for Drug Delivery, Oligonucleotide Therapeutics & Delivery, Small Molecules in Development of Therapeutic Drugs, Vaccinology, Viral diseases, virology, Virology - Vector-borne DIsease, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on June 20, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Non-toxic antiviral nanoparticles with a broad spectrum of virus inhibition

Curator and Reporter: Dr. Premalata Pati, Ph.D., Postdoc

Non-toxic antiviral nanoparticles with a broad spectrum of virus inhibition

Infectious diseases account for 20% of global deaths, with viruses accounting for over a third of these deaths (1). Lower respiratory effects and human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are among the top ten causes of death worldwide, both of which contribute significantly to health-care costs (2). Every year, new viruses (such as Ebola) increase the mortality toll. Vaccinations are the most effective method of avoiding viral infections, but there are only a few of them, and they are not available in all parts of the world (3). After infection, antiviral medications are the only option; unfortunately, only a limited number of antiviral medications are approved in this condition. Antiviral drugs on a big scale that can influence a wide spectrum of existing and emerging viruses are critical.

The three types of treatments currently available are small molecules (such as nucleoside analogues and peptidomimetics), proteins that stimulate the immune system (such as interferon), and oligonucleotides (for example, fomivirsen). The primary priorities include HIV, hepatitis B and C viruses, Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV), human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), and influenza virus. They work mainly on viral enzymes, which are necessary for viral replication but which differ from other host enzymes to ensure selective function. The specificity of antivirals is far from perfect because viruses rely on the biosynthesis machinery for reproduction of infected cells, which results in a widespread and inherent toxicity associated with such therapy. However, most viruses mutate rapidly due to their improper replicating mechanisms and so often develop resistance (4). Finally, since antiviral substances are targeted at viral proteins, it is challenging to build broad-based antivirals that can act with a wide range of phylogenetic and structurally different virus.

Over the last decade breakthroughs in nanotechnology have led to scientists developing incredibly specialized nanoparticles capable of traveling in specific cells through a human body. A broad spectrum of destructive viruses is being targeted and not only bind to, but also destroy, by modern computer modeling technology.

An international team of researchers led by the University of Illinois at Chicago chemistry professor Petr Kral developed novel anti-viral nanoparticles that bind to a variety of viruses, including herpes simplex virus, human papillomavirus, respiratory syncytial virus, Dengue, and lentiviruses. In contrast to conventional broad-spectrum antivirals, which just prevent viruses from invading cells, the new nanoparticles eradicate viruses. The team’s findings have been published in the journal “Nature Materials.”

A molecular dynamics model showing a nanoparticle binding to the outer envelope of the human papillomavirus. (Credit: Petr Kral) https://today.uic.edu/files/2017/09/viralbindingcropped.png

The goal of this new study was to create a new anti-viral nanoparticle that could exploit the HSPG binding process to not only tightly attach with virus particles but also to destroy them. The work was done by a group of researchers ranging from biochemists to computer modeling experts until the team came up with a successful nanoparticle design that could, in principle, accurately target and kill individual virus particles.

The first step to combat many viruses consists in the attachment of heparin sulfate proteoglycan on cell surfaces to a protein (HSPG). Some of the antiviral medications already in place prevent an infection by imitating HSPG’s connection to the virus. An important constraint of these antivirals is that not only is this antiviral interaction weak, it does not kill the virus.

Kral said

We knew how the nanoparticles should bind on the overall composition of HSPG binding viral domains and the structures of the nanoparticles, but we did not realize why the various nanoparticles act so differently in terms of their both bond strength and viral entry in cells

Kral and colleagues assisted in resolving these challenges and guiding the experimentalists in fine-tuning the nanoparticle design so that it performed better.

The researchers have employed advanced computer modeling techniques to build exact structures of several target viruses and nanoparticles up to the atom’s position. A profound grasp of the interactions between individual atom groupings in viruses and nanoparticles allows the scientists to evaluate the strength and duration of prospective links between these two entities and to forecast how the bond could change over time and eventually kill the virus.


Atomistic MD simulations of an L1 pentamer of HPV capsid protein with the small NP (2.4 nm core, 100 MUP ligands). The NP and the protein are shown by van der Waals (vdW) and ribbon representations respectively. In the protein, the HSPG binding amino acids are displayed by vdW representation.

Kral added

We were capable of providing the design team with the data needed to construct a prototype of an antiviral of high efficiency and security, which may be utilized to save lives

The team has conducted several in vitro experiments following the development of a prototype nanoparticle design which have demonstrated success in binding and eventually destroying a wide spectrum of viruses, including herpes simplex, human papillomaviruses, respiratory syncytial viruses and dengue and lentiviruses.

The research is still in its early phases, and further in vivo animal testing is needed to confirm the nanoparticles’ safety, but this is a promising new road toward efficient antiviral therapies that could save millions of people from devastating virus infections each year.

The National Centers of Competence in Research on Bio-Inspired Materials, the University of Turin, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic, the Leenards Foundation, National Science Foundation award DMR-1506886, and funding from the University of Texas at El Paso all contributed to this study.

Main Source

Cagno, V., Andreozzi, P., D’Alicarnasso, M., Silva, P. J., Mueller, M., Galloux, M., … & Stellacci, F. (2018). Broad-spectrum non-toxic antiviral nanoparticles with a virucidal inhibition mechanism. Nature materials, 17(2), 195-203. https://www.nature.com/articles/nmat5053

Other Related Articles published in this Open Access Online Scientific Journal include the following:

Rare earth-doped nanoparticles applications in biological imaging and tumor treatment

Reporter: Irina Robu, PhD

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2020/10/04/rare-earth-doped-nanoparticles-applications-in-biological-imaging-and-tumor-treatment/

Nanoparticles Could Boost Effectiveness of Allergy Shots

Reporter: Irina Robu, PhD

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2019/05/25/nanoparticles-could-boost-effectiveness-of-allergy-shots/

Immunoreactivity of Nanoparticles

Author: Tilda Barliya PhD

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2012/10/27/immunoreactivity-of-nanoparticles/

Nanotechnology and HIV/AIDS Treatment

Author: Tilda Barliya, PhD

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2012/12/25/nanotechnology-and-hivaids-treatment/

Nanosensors for Protein Recognition, and gene-proteome interaction

Curator: Larry H Bernstein, MD, FCAP

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2016/01/30/nanosensors-for-protein-recognition-and-gene-proteome-interaction/

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Nanoparticles can turn off genes in bone marrow cells

Posted in mRNA Therapeutics, Nanotechnology for Drug Delivery, tagged , , , , on November 19, 2020| Leave a Comment »

 

Nanoparticles can turn off genes in bone marrow cells

Reporter : Irina Robu, PhD

MIT engineers developed an alternative to turn off specific genes which play a vital role in producing blood cells of the bone marrow using specialized nanoparticles. These nanoparticles can be made-to-order to treat heart disease or increase the yield of stem cells in patience who need stem cell transplants. The particles are coated with lipids that help stabilize them, and they can target organs such as the lungs, heart, and spleen, depending on the particles’ composition and molecular weight. This genetic therapy, also known as RNA interference is difficult to target organs other than the liver, where most of the nanoparticles tend to collect.

RNA interference is an approach that could theoretically be used to treat a variety of diseases by delivering short strands of RNA that block specific genes from being turned on in a cell. Yet, the main obstacle to this kind of therapy has been  delivering it to the right part of the body. When injected into the bloodstream, nanoparticles carrying RNA tend to accrue in the liver, which various biotech companies have taken advantage of to develop new experimental treatments for liver disease.

In their recent study, scientists set out to adapt the nanoparticles so that they could reach the bone marrow which contains stem cells that produce different types of blood cells. Stimulating the process , they could enhance the yield of hematopoietic stem cells for stem cell transplantation and they created variants that have different arrangements of surface coating, polyethylene glycol. They were able to test 15 particles and determined one that was able to avoid being caught in the liver or the lungs, and that could effectively accumulate in endothelial cells of the bone marrow. They also showed that RNA carried by this particle could reduce the expression of a target gene by up to 80 percent.

The scientists then tested this approach with two genes. The first gene, SDF1 is a molecule that normally prevents hematopoietic stem cells from leaving the bone marrow. They realized that turning off the SDF1 gene could have the same effect as the drugs that are being used to induce hematopoietic stem cell release in patients who need undergo radiation treatments for blood cancers. These stem cells are later transplanted to repopulate the patient’s blood cells. By knocking down SDF1, they could boost the release of hematopoietic cells fivefold which is comparable to the levels achieved by the drugs that are now used to enhance stem cell release.

The second gene researchers use is MCP1, a molecule that plays a key role in heart disease.  They realized that when MCP1 is released by bone marrow cells after a heart attack, it stimulates a flood of immune cells to leave the bone marrow and travel to the heart. Researchers realize that by delivering RNA that targets MCP1 reduced the number of immune cells that went to the heart after a heart attack.

Using these new particles, researchers hypothesized that they could further develop treatments for heart disease and other conditions.

SOURCE

https://news.mit.edu/2020/nanoparticles-bone-marrow-rnai-1005

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Llama-inspired “AeroNabs” to strangle COVID-19 with an inhaler

Posted in COVID-19, Nanotechnology for Drug Delivery, tagged , , , , on October 11, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Llama inspired “AeroNabs” to strangle COVID-19 with an inhaler 

Reporter : Irina Robu, PhD

Llama and other camelids fight off pathogens like viruses with tiny antibodies called nanobodies. A USCF team used protein engineering to make a synthetic nanobody that prevents the spike protein on the surface of SARS-CoV-2 from binding to healthy cells and infecting them. The team indicates promising preclinical results for aerosol formulation and can be used as a self-administered form of protein against the virus.

According to the UCSF team, an aerosolized form of nanobody exhibit SARS-CoV-2 incapable of binding to the ACE2 receptor on healthy cells that line airways. The synthetic nanobody stays functional after it was freeze-dried, exposed to heat and aerosolized.

The researchers ongoing screening a library of synthetic nanobodies, ultimately landing on 21 that banned the spike-ACE2 interaction. The scientists decided that in order to be truly efficient, a nanobody based treatment with interact with all three of the receptor binding domains on the spike protein that attaches to ACE2.  Their solution was to engineer a molecular chain that connects three nanobodies together, which would ensure that when one of the nanobodies attached to RBD, the others would link to the two remaining RBD. This molecular chain resulted in a drug candidate proved to be 200,000 times more potent than a single antibody.

At the same time, ExeVir Bio is also developing an aerosolized COVID-19 treatment inspired by llamas and is currently trying to advance its candidate into clinical trials by the end of the year. Their main candidate, VHH-72Fc was considered to bind to an epitope that is found both in SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV. Yet, the llama inspired treatments are still behind antibody efforts like that of Regeneron.

Even though, there are multiple vaccines in development, researchers at UCSF believe that AeroNabs can be used as a sort of personal protective equipment until vaccines become available. The same researchers are planning human trials and are in discussion with partners who can provide manufacturing and distribution backing.

SOURCE

https://www.fiercebiotech.com/research/ucsf-engineers-develop-llama-inspired-aeronabs-to-strangle-covid-19-inhaler

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Novel SARS-CoV-2 sybodies

Posted in Human Antibody Response, Population Health Management, Genetics & Pharmaceutical, SARS-CoV-2, Serology tests for coronavirus antibodies, tagged , , , , on July 20, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Novel SARS-CoV-2 sybodies

Reporter: Irina Robu, PhD

Absolute Antibody Ltd., a leader of the market in recombinant antibody products announced a partnership with University of Zurich to offer synthetic nanobodies against the receptor binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2. Under the partnership, the original nanobodies and recently engineered formats are now accessible to the global research community for use as serological controls and in COVID-19 therapeutic development. The synthetic nanobodies hold a particular potential for the development of inhalable drugs, which could suggest a convenient treatment option for the COVID-19 pandemic.

The laboratory of Markus Seeger at University of Zurich designs a rapid in vitro selection platform to generate synthetic nanobodies, sybodies, against the receptor binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2. Within a two-week timeframe, the lab had recognized more than 60 unique anti-RBD sybodies from combinatorial display libraries. The sybodies are “designed to mimic the natural shape diversity of camelid nanobodies, consequently allowing for an optimal surface complementarity to the limited hydrophilic epitopes on membrane proteins. Due to their high thermal stabilities and low production costs, sybodies demonstrate a promise for diagnostic and therapeutic applications.

Sybodies are perfectly suited to trap intrinsically flexible membrane proteins and thereby facilitate structure determination by X-ray crystallography and cryo-EM. Additional research indicate that six of the sybodies bound SARS-CoV-2 spike protein with very high affinity, while five of those also inhibited ACE2, the host cell receptor to which SARS-CoV-2 binds to initiate the COVID-19 infection. Furthermore, two of the sybodies can at the same time bind the RBD, which could permit the construction of a polyvalent antiviral drug. The SARS-CoV-2 sybodies are therefore valuable tools for coronavirus research, diagnostics and therapeutic development.

Moreover, Absolute Antibody has used antibody engineering to fuse the nanobodies to Fc domains in different species, isotypes and subtypes. Absolute Antibody also offers supporting coronavirus research such as the production of gram quantities of human antibodies sequenced from recovering COVID-19 patients.

SOURCE

https://www.biocompare.com/Life-Science-News/562900-SARS-CoV-2-COVID-19-Research-News-Latest-Updates

 

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New ways to Heal Damage after a Heart Attack

Posted in Materials Science & Engineering, tagged , , , , on June 14, 2019| Leave a Comment »

New ways to Heal Damage after a Heart Attack

Reporter: Irina Robu, PhD

More than a million Americans have heart attacks each year. Researchers at Northwestern University and University of California, San Diego have designed a minimally invasive platform to deliver nanomaterial that turns body’s inflammatory response into a signal rather than means of scarring following a heart attack. The researchers from Northwestern-UC San Diego established a novel way to deliver a bioactivated, biodegradable, regenerative substance through a noninvasive catheter without clogging in-vivo in a rat model.

When a person has a heart attack, the extracellular matrix is stripped away and scar tissue forms in its place, decreasing the heart’s functionality. The team injects a self-assembling peptide that seeks out a target, the heart’s damaged extracellular matrix and the solution is then activated by the inflammatory environment itself and gels.

The team’s preclinical research was led in rats and segmented into two proof-of-concept tests. The first test recognized that the material could be fed through a catheter without clogging and without interacting with human blood. The second determined whether the self-assembling peptides could find their way to the damaged tissue, bypassing healthy heart tissue. The scientists attached a fluorescent tag to the self-assembling peptides and imaged the heart to see where the peptides eventually settled.

Researchers now know that when they remove the fluorescent tag and replace it with a therapeutic, the self-assembling peptides will locate to the affected area of the heart. One hurdle is that catheter delivery in a rodent model is far more complicated than the same procedure in a human.

A major innovation occurred when sterically constrained cyclic peptides, which flow freely during delivery and rapidly assemble into hydrogels when they come in contact with disease associated enzymes. The process creates conditions for the peptides to better self-assemble on top one another and form the scaffold that resembles the native extracellular matrix.

SOURCE
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-04/nu-fab042319.php

 

 

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Carbon Nano-tube Design Halts Dust Harmful Protective Gear

Posted in Materials Science & Engineering, Programmable Sensors (Carbon Nano Tubes), tagged , , , on January 13, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Carbon Nano-tube Design Halts Dust Harmful Protective Gear by Deterring Particles

Reporter: Irina Robu, PhD

A self-cleaning spacesuit was developed by engineers using carbon nanotube technology to purge itself from hyper-abrasive space dust. The sharp and sticky particles can cause noteworthy wear and tear on protective gear as well as causing them to overheat.Kavya Manyapu, a flight crew operations and test engineer for Starliner Spacecraft at Boeing, has now created a way to magnetize flexible carbon nanotube fibers which make the fabric immune to the problematic dust particles. A magnetic field induces a process known as electrophoresis, which carries and moves charged particles away from an area to stop it building up in certain areas.

However, particles on our moon and other planets are sharper and abrasive because of the atmosphere which erodes bulging edges here on Earth. It is also often electrically charged due to the relentless and unfiltered UV rays from space which experts say make the dust particles ‘sticky’. Static electricity aids the dust cling to a spacesuit and then wears out the fabric – often in crevices and folds such as elbows and knees.

Carbon nano-tubes are already in use to stop dust settling on solar panels and other sensors in space but they are brittle and ill-suited for use in clothing. However, scientists have found a way to make technology flexible with the use of small magnetic field created a fabric that can repel the dust.
Boeing engineers created a fully functioning knee joint section to prove their concept was operative. The segment was fully pressurized, as it would be on future lunar and Martian missions. It can even be adapted to improved suit the circumstances and requirements of other planets.

SOURCE

https://nano-magazine.com/news/2019/1/9/self-cleaning-spacesuits-could-help-astronauts-survive-on-mars

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Unlocking the Secrets of 3D Printing

Posted in 3D Printing for Medical Application, Biological Engineering, tagged , , , , on January 6, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Unlocking the Secrets of 3D Printing

Reporter: Irina Robu, PhD

Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory discovered interesting ways to advance the capabilities of two-photon lithography, a high-resolution 3D printing technique capable of producing nanoscale features which unleashes the potential for X-ray computed tomography to analyze stress or defects noninvasively in embedded in 3D printed medical devices or implants. Two-photon lithography stereotypically requires a thin glass slide, a lens and an immersion oil to help the laser light focus to a fine point where curing and printing occurs. The findings were published in the journal of ACS Applied Material and Interfaces.

In the paper, researchers describe cracking the code on resist materials improved for two-photon lithography and forming 3-D microstructures with features less than 150 nanometer which is better in comparison to previous techniques which build structures from ground up, limiting the height of the objects.

According to LLNL researcher James Oakdale, “In this paper, we have unlocked the secrets to making custom materials on two-photon lithography systems without losing resolution”, because the laser light refracts as it passes through the photoresist material, the cornerstone is discovering how to match the refractive index of the resist material to the immersion medium of the lens so the laser could pass through unimpeded.

Investigators can now use X-ray computed tomography as an analytical tool to copy the inside parts without cutting them open and to investigate 3D printed objects by fine-tuning the material’s x-ray absorption. The only limiting factor is the time it takes to build, so the researchers are investigating how to speed up the process.

These techniques could be used to harvest and probe the internal structure of targets for the National Ignition Facility, as well as optical and mechanical metamaterials and 3D-printed electrochemical batteries.

SOURCE

https://www.llnl.gov/news/lab-unlocks-secrets-nanoscale-3d-printing

 

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Ferritin Cage Enzyme Encapsulation as a New Platform for Nanotechnology

Posted in Nanotechnology for Drug Delivery, tagged , , , , , on October 9, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Ferritin Cage Enzyme Encapsulation as a New Platform for Nanotechnology

 Reporter: Irina Robu, PhD

In bionanotechnology, biological systems such as viruses, protein complexes, lipid vesicles and artificial cells, are being developed for applications in medicine and materials science.  However, the paper published by Stephan Tetter and Donald Hilvert in Angewandte Chemie International Edition show that it is possible to encapsulate proteins such as ferritin by manipulating electrostatic interactions with the negatively charged interior of the cage.The primary role of ferritin is to protect cells from the damage caused by the Fenton reaction; where, in oxidizing conditions, free Fe(II) produces harmful reactive oxygen species that can damage the cellular machinery.

The ferritin family proteins are protein nanocages that evolved to safely store iron in an oxidizing world. Since ferritin family proteins are able to mineralize and store metal ions, they have been the focus of much research for the production of metal nanoparticles and as prototypes for semiconductor production. The ferritin cage itself is highly symmetrical, and is made up of 24 subunits arranged in an octahedral symmetry. Ferritins are smaller than other protein used for protein   encapsulation.   Their  outer  diameter is only 12 nm, whereas engineered lumazine synthase variants form cages with diameters ranging from about 20 to 60 nm.The ferritin cage displays remarkable thermal and chemical stability it is likely to modify the surface of the ferritin cage through the addition of peptide and protein tags. These characteristics have made ferritins attractive vectors for the delivery of drug molecules and as scaffolds for vaccine design.

In summary, the paper published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition is the first example of protein incorporation by a ferritin.  Dr. Donald Hilvert and colleagues have shown that AfFtn not only complexes positively charged guest proteins within its naturally negatively charged luminal cavity, but that the in vitro mixing technique can be extended to the encapsulation and protection of other functional  fusion proteins.

Hence, the recent discovery of encapsulated ferritins has identified an exciting new platform for use in bio nanotechnology. The use of synthetic biology tools will allow their rapid implementation in materials science, bio-nanotechnology and medical applications.

SOURCE

https://www.readbyqxmd.com/read/28902449/enzyme-encapsulation-by-a-ferritin-cage

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Novel Blood Substitute – ErythroMer

Posted in Biological Engineering, Nanotechnology for Drug Delivery, Tissue Engineering, tagged , , , on September 17, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Novel Blood Substitute – ErythroMer

Reporter: Irina Robu, PhD

For years, scientists have tried ineffectively to create an artificial molecule that emulates the oxygen-carrying function of human red blood cell but the efforts failed because of oxygen delivery and safety issues. Now, a group of researchers led by Dr. Alan Doctor at Washington University in Saint Louis, are trying to resuscitate blood substitutes with a new nanotechnology-based, artificial red blood cell may overcome the problems that killed products designed by a team of companies such as Biopure, Alliance Pharmaceuticals, Northfield Labs and even Baxter. Dr. Alan Doctor’s new company, Kalocyte is advancing the development of the

The donut-shaped artificial cells, ErythroMer are one-fiftieth the size of human red blood cells. ErythroMer is a novel blood substitute composed of a patented nanobialys nanoparticle. A special lining and control system tied to changes in blood Ph allows Erythromer to grab onto oxygen in the lungs and then dispense the oxygen in tissues where it is needed. The new artificial cells are intended to sidestep problems with vasoconstriction or narrowing of blood vessels.

Erythromer is stored freeze dried and reconstituted with water when needed but it can also be stored at room temperature which makes it for military and civilian trauma.

Trials have been successful in rats, mice, and rabbits, and human trials are planned. However, moving Erythromer into human clinical trials is still 8-10 years away.

SOURCE

https://www.thestreet.com/story/13913099/1/human-blood-substitutes-once-dead-now-resuscitated.html

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