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Article: Therapeutic nanoparticles give new meaning to sugar-coating medicine.
- Article from:
- NewsRx Health & Science
- Article date:
- October 11, 2009
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A research team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) studying sugar-coated nanoparticles for use as a possible cancer therapy has uncovered a delicate balancing act that makes the particles more effective than conventional thinking says they should be. Just like individuals in a crowd respecting other people's personal space, the particles work because they get close together, but not too close.
In cooperation with colleagues at The Johns Hopkins University, Dartmouth College, the University of Manitoba and two biopharmaceutical companies, the NIST team has demonstrated* that the particles-essentially sugar-coated bits of iron oxide, about ...