my recent articles |
| Coated nanoparticles slip through mucus |
|
22 January 2007, for New Scientist Nanoparticles with the right coating can quickly slip through human mucus, a new study shows. The results raise hopes for more efficient delivery of a variety of drugs. Mucus helps protect the lungs, intestines, vaginal tract, and other tissues. The thick mesh of proteins contained in mucus can capture bacteria and dirt, and then flush these invaders out. Previous research also found that mucus acts as a formidable barrier to nanoscopic particles. Nanoparticles about 500 nanometres in diameter show promise for drug delivery, since they are big enough to more easily contain a drug and release it over weeks or months, increasing the effectiveness of many therapies. However, studies have found that such nanoparticles usually become stuck in mucus. While nanoparticles less than 100 nm can often pass through mucus, they also leak drugs more rapidly, lessening the potential advantage. Now researchers have cracked the problem, with a cheap and easy way to make larger nanoparticles slip through mucus. The secret, say Justin Hanes and colleagues at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, US, is to coat them with the molecule polyethylene glycol (PEG) – a simple, biodegradable polymer.... Read the rest on New Scientist's website. |