New quantum Dots for drug delivery

[Guest guest]

March 11, 2009. University of Berlin published in the American Chemnical

Society.

Scientists in Switzerland are reporting an advance that could help tap the

much-heralded potential of " quantum dots " - nanocrystals that glow when exposed

to ultraviolet light - in the treatment of cancer and other diseases. They are

publishing the first study showing that giving quantum dots an icing-like cap of

certain sugars makes these nanoparticles accumulate in the liver but not other

parts of the body. That selective targeting could be used to deliver anti-cancer

drugs to one organ, without causing the body-wide side-effects that occur with

existing cancer drugs, they suggest. Their study is in the Feb. 18 issue of the

Journal of the American Chemical Society, a weekly publication. In a study with

laboratory mice, the scientists coated quantum dots with either mannose or

galactosamine, two sugars that accumulate selectively in the liver. The

sugar-coated dots became three times more concentrated in the mice livers than

the regular dots, demonstrating their higher specificity, the researchers say.

The remaining article is at the website posted below.

The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S.

Congress. With more than 154,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific

society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research

through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific

conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com:80/articles/141751.php

Blessings,

Lottie