Platelet Nanoparticle

Much research is ongoing with nanoparticles for both drug delivery and gene therapy. This piece describes work in two North Carolina universities that began with mixing blood platelet membranes and a gel containing the anti-tumor antibiotic doxorubicin. Spinning turned the components into spheres, upon which the developers applied a coating of the cytokine TRAIL (tumor necrosis factor related apoptosis inducing ligand). The cytokine was the targeting device, and once found, the nanoparticle released the tumor-killing drug.  MORE

Image Credit: North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and MedGadget.com