Researchers Test Nanoparticle To Treat Cardiovascular Disease In Mice

[steven johnson]

So is there a future in dissolving plaques of atheromatous material? Only time will tell.

ScienceDaily (June 15, 2009) — Scientists and engineers at UC Santa Barbara and other researchers have developed a nanoparticle that can attack plaque –– a major cause of cardiovascular disease. The new development is described in a recent issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The nanoparticles in this study are lipid-based collections of molecules that form a sphere called a micelle. The micelle has a peptide, a piece of protein, on its surface, and that peptide binds to the surface of the plaque

To accomplish the research, the team induced atherosclerotic plaques in mice by keeping them on a high-fat diet. They then intravenously injected these mice with the micelles, which were allowed to circulate for three hours.

Tirrell added:"We think that self-assembled micelles (of peptide amphiphiles) of the sort we have used in this work are the most versatile, flexible nanoparticles for delivering diagnostic and therapeutic biofunctionality in vivo. The ease with which small particles, with sufficiently long circulation times and carrying peptides that target and treat pathological tissue, can be constructed by self-assembly is an important advantage."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090604155619.htm">Researchers Test Nanoparticle To Treat Cardiovascular Disease In Mice

[mopinko]

1. cool

interesting site. thanks.

[gizmo1979]

2. Another procedure no one

will be able to afford.