Browsing by keyword "nanotechnology"
Now showing items 1-2 of 2
-
Ligand-Specific Nano-Contrast Agents Promote Enhanced Breast Cancer CT Detection at 0.5 mg AuFor many cancer types, being undetectable from early symptoms or blood tests, or often detected at late stages, medical imaging emerges as the most efficient tool for cancer screening. MRI, ultrasound, X-rays (mammography), and X-ray CT (CT) are currently used in hospitals with variable costs. Diagnostic materials that can detect breast tumors through molecular recognition and amplify the signal at the targeting site in combination with state-of-the-art CT techniques, such as dual-energy CT, could lead to a more precise detection and assist significantly in image-guided intervention. Herein, we have developed a ligand-specific X-ray contrast agent that recognizes α5β1 integrins overexpressed in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells for detection of triple (-) cancer, which proliferates very aggressively. In vitro studies show binding and internalization of our nanoprobes within those cells, towards uncoated nanoparticles (NPs) and saline. In vivo studies show high retention of ~3 nm ligand-PEG-S-AuNPs in breast tumors in mice (up to 21 days) and pronounced CT detection, with statistical significance from saline and iohexol, though only 0.5 mg of metal were utilized. In addition, accumulation of ligand-specific NPs is shown in tumors with minimal presence in other organs, relative to controls. The prolonged, low-metal, NP-enhanced spectral-CT detection of triple (-) breast cancer could lead to breakthrough advances in X-ray cancer diagnostics, nanotechnology, and medicine.
-
Nanoinformatics 2010: Community-wide collaboration for the collection, curation, analysis, and dissemination of nanotechnology dataObjective: To describe the emerging disciplinary community of Nanoinformatics, of which the University of Massachusetts Amherst is a part, and Nanoinformatics 2010, a collaborative roadmapping workshop organized by this community to coordinate the existing but diverse efforts to collect, curate, analyze, and disseminate nanotechnology data. Participants: InterNano1 and the National Nanomanufacturing Network2—funded by the National Science Foundation Center for Hierarchical Manufacturing3 and administered by the University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries4—were the primary organizing entities for Nanoinformatics 2010. Description: Nanoinformatics is the science and practice of determining which information is relevant to the nanoscale science and engineering community, and then developing and implementing effective mechanisms for collecting, validating, storing, sharing, analyzing, modeling, and applying that information. Existing nanoinformatics initiatives have developed independently and in ad hoc manner within specific communities of practice, such as nanomanufacturing. While coordination and crossfertilization among projects would mitigate redundancy and enhance complementarity, there has been no overarching plan to coordinate these diverse efforts to date. Nanoinformatics 2010 began the process of coordinating activities to standardize practice and encourage data sharing across the community. Results: Nanoinformatics 2010 was an important part of the process of articulating the comprehensive needs and goals for nanoinformatics, as included in the Nanoinformatics 2020 Roadmap. The Roadmap outlines major themes, describes cross-cutting issues, and projects several pilot activities in nanoinformatics. As a primary contributor to this Roadmap, InterNano demonstrates how the expertise and experience of libraries are making a positive impact on emerging communities of practice for Grand Challenge science. 1 http://www.internano.org 2 http://www.internano.org/content/view/66/227/ 3 http://chm.pse.umass.edu/ 4 http://www.library.umass.edu/
