{"id":370891,"date":"2022-04-29T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-29T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/?post_type=selected&p=370891"},"modified":"2022-04-29T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-04-29T09:00:00","slug":"nanochips-penetrate-inside-cells-as-mechanical-drugs","status":"publish","type":"selected","link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/selected\/nanochips-penetrate-inside-cells-as-mechanical-drugs\/","title":{"rendered":"Nanochips penetrate inside cells as mechanical drugs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A research team put devices of 50 nanometre-thick \u2014one thousandth of a hair\u2019s part\u2014 inside living cells in order to find their division process and alter it, and even destroy cells. The new study, which sheds light on the exploration pathways in the field of nanomedicine, includes the participation of the researchers Llu\u00efsa P\u00e9rez-Garcia and Ezhil Amirthalingam, from the\u00a0Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences<\/a>\u00a0and the Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology of the University of Barcelona (IN2UB<\/a>), wrties the Spanish university in this press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study, published in the journal Advanced Materials<\/em><\/a>, is led by the lecturer Jos\u00e9 Antonio Plaza, from the Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona (IMB-CNM-CSIC), and results from the collaboration with the teams of UB-IN2UB \u2014led by Professor Llu\u00efsa P\u00e9rez-Garc\u00eda\u2014 and the Centre for Biological Research Margarita Salas (CIB-CSIC), led by researcher Teresa Su\u00e1rez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nanochips to stop cell division<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Traditionally, the great advances in the study of cell functioning were carried out through the chemical drugs, which involved the great development of medicines to treat diseases. Over the last decades, the scientific community stated that for the good functioning of cells, the mechanical part (physics) is as important as the chemical one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new study presents the use of nanochips for studying and modulating the mechanical part of cells. These nanometric devices, which prevent cell division through mechanical processes, can be used as \u201cmechanical\u201d drugs to alter or even destroy cells, which opens new opportunities for new future therapeutical treatments. In this study, the UB-IN2UB team has been involved with the conceptual and experimental development of the research and has implemented the chemical functionalization of the nanochips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mechanical cancer therapy <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The starting point that led to the results now published in Advanced Materials<\/em> was the concession of the Explora project by the Ministry of Science and Innovation in 2014 with the participation of the three research groups. \u201cThe Explora projects enable working in innovative and risky research, and all the teams started working on what we call the mechanical cancer therapy\u201d, notes Professor Llu\u00efsa P\u00e9rez, member of the Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutical Chemistry, who led the UB projects within the frame of the research consortium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe devices can be designed with controlled shapes and dimensions at a micron and nanometre scale. In particular, these are star-shaped devices, they have a 22-micron diameter and a thickness between 50 nm and 50 nm. They are made of silicon and their star-shape makes them look like a nanofiber mesh\u201d, notes researcher Jos\u00e9 Antonio Plaza (IMB-CNM-CSIC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chips interfere in cells life <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Cells are able to internalize these nanometric structures with dimensions of the order of the cell diameter. Once inside, they hinder mechanically the usual functioning of the cell, therefore causing an alteration in the cellular cycle, and sometimes, its death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study shows how a chip \u2014a physical object\u2014 can interfere mechanically in the cell cycle, in a similar way to asbestos fibres that cause cell alterations which lead to diseases. The new study sheds light on the analysis of other geometries to see the effects on the cell cycle, a starting point of potential biomedical interest for studying many diseases \u2014such as cancer\u2014 in which the physical part of cells is relevant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPreventing cell division or slowing it down through a mechanical object can cause cell death and this could be key in many future medicine treatments\u201d, notes researcher Mar\u00eda Isabel Arjona (IMB-CNM-CSIC).<\/p>\n\n\n

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