Search results for " Materials Science"
showing 10 items of 7414 documents
Plasmonic Nanosensors for the Determination of Drug Effectiveness on Membrane Receptors.
2016
We demonstrate the potential of the NanoSPR (nanoscale surface plasmon resonance sensors) method as a simple and cheap tool for the quantitative study of membrane protein–protein interactions. We use NanoSPR to determine the effectiveness of two potential drug candidates that inhibit the protein complex formation between FtsA and ZipA at initial stages of bacterial division. As the NanoSPR method relies on individual gold nanorods as sensing elements, there is no need for fluorescent labels or organic cosolvents, and it provides intrinsically high statistics. NanoSPR could become a powerful tool in drug development, drug delivery, and membrane studies.
Treg cells as potential cellular targets for functionalized nanoparticles in cancer therapy.
2016
Treg cell-mediated immune suppression appears to represent a significant barrier to effective anticancer immune responses and their inactivation or removal is viewed as a potential therapeutic approach. Although suitable tools for selective Treg cell manipulation in man are missing, their number and function can be altered by a number of drugs and biologicals and by reprogramming tumor-infiltrating antigen presenting cells. Nanoparticles offer exceptional new options in drug and gene delivery by prolonging the circulation time of their cargo, protecting it from degradation and promoting its local accumulation in cells and tissues. In tumor therapy, the use of nanoparticles is expected to o…
Translating nanoparticulate-personalized cancer vaccines into clinical applications: case study with RNA-lipoplexes for the treatment of melanoma
2016
The development of nucleic acid based vaccines against cancer has gained considerable momentum through the advancement of modern sequencing technologies and on novel RNA-based synthetic drug formats, which can be readily adapted following identification of every patient's tumor-specific mutations. Furthermore, affordable and individual ‘on demand’ production of molecularly optimized vaccines should allow their application in large groups of patients. This has resulted in the therapeutic concept of an active personalized cancer vaccine, which has been brought into clinical testing. Successful trials have been performed by intranodal administration of sterile isotonic solutions of synthetic …
Mixed topological semimetals driven by orbital complexity in two-dimensional ferromagnets
2018
The concepts of Weyl fermions and topological semimetals emerging in three-dimensional momentum space are extensively explored owing to the vast variety of exotic properties that they give rise to. On the other hand, very little is known about semimetallic states emerging in two-dimensional magnetic materials, which present the foundation for both present and future information technology. Here, we demonstrate that including the magnetization direction into the topological analysis allows for a natural classification of topological semimetallic states that manifest in two-dimensional ferromagnets as a result of the interplay between spin-orbit and exchange interactions. We explore the emerg…
Nano-engineered skin mesenchymal stem cells: potential vehicles for tumour-targeted quantum-dot delivery
2017
Nanotechnology-based drug design offers new possibilities for the use of nanoparticles in imaging and targeted therapy of tumours. Due to their tumour-homing ability, nano-engineered mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) could be utilized as vectors to deliver diagnostic and therapeutic nanoparticles into a tumour. In the present study, uptake and functional effects of carboxyl-coated quantum dots QD655 were studied in human skin MSCs. The effect of QD on MSCs was examined using a cell viability assay, Ki67 expression analysis, and tri-lineage differentiation assay. The optimal conditions for QD uptake in MSCs were determined using flow cytometry. The QD uptake route in MSCs was examined via fluore…
Trochoidal motion and pair generation in skyrmion and antiskyrmion dynamics under spin-orbit torques
2018
Magnetic skyrmions are swirling magnetic spin structures that could be used to build next-generation memory and logic devices. They can be characterized by a topological charge that describes how the spin winds around the core. The dynamics of skyrmions and antiskyrmions, which have opposite topological charges, are typically described by assuming a rigid core. However, this reduces the set of variables that describe skyrmion motion. Here we theoretically explore the dynamics of skyrmions and antiskyrmions in ultrathin ferromagnetic films and show that current-induced spin–orbit torques can lead to trochoidal motion and skyrmion–antiskyrmion pair generation, which occurs only for either the…
Harnessing the potential of noninvasive in vivo preclinical imaging of the immune system: challenges and prospects.
2016
Preclinical imaging has become a powerful method for investigation of in vivo processes such as pharmacokinetics of therapeutic substances and visualization of physiologic and pathophysiological mechanisms. These are important aspects to understand diseases and develop strategies to modify their progression with pharmacologic interventions. One promising intervention is the application of specifically tailored nanoscale particles that modulate the immune system to generate a tumor targeting immune response. In this complex interaction between immunomodulatory therapies, the immune system and malignant disease, imaging methods are expected to play a key role on the way to generate new thera…
Structural commonalities and deviations in the hierarchical organization of crossed-lamellar shells: A case study on the shell of the bivalve Glycyme…
2016
11 pages; International audience; The structural organization of the palliostracum—the dominant part of the shell which is formed by the mantle cells—of Glycymeris glycymeris (Linné 1758) is comprised of five hierarchical levels with pronounced structural commonalities and deviations from other crossed-lamellar shells. The hierarchical level known as second order lamellae, present within other crossed-lamellar shells, is absent highlighting a short-coming of the currently used nomenclature. On the mesoscale, secondary microtubules penetrate the palliostracum and serve as crack arrestors. Moreover, the growth lamellae follow bent trajectories possibly impacting crack propagation, crack defle…
Structures of collagen IV globular domains: insight into associated pathologies, folding and network assembly
2018
15 páginas, 6 figuras, 1 tabla.
MPLA-coated hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) nanocapsules induce vigorous T cell responses in cord blood derived human T cells.
2016
Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is the most prevalent serious liver infection in the world. A frequent route of infection represents mother-to-child transmission. Efficient control of HBV replication depends on antigen-specific cellular immune response mediated by dendritic cells (DCs). Aim of the present study was to evaluate optimized adjuvant combinations, efficiently maturing monocyte-derived neonatal and adult dendritic cells (moDCs). In addition, the potential of polymeric HBsAg-nanocapsules (HBsAg-NCs) was investigated regarding up-take by moDCs and the subsequent induction of specific T cell responses in a human co-culture model. Simultaneous stimulation of moDCs with MPLA…