Nanotechnology Now

Our NanoNews Digest Sponsors
Heifer International



Home > Press > WSU researchers develop new technique to understand biology at the nanoscale

Prashanta Dutta, professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering
Prashanta Dutta, professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering

Abstract:
Washington State University researchers for the first time have shown that they can use electrical fields to gain valuable information about the tiny, floating vesicles that move around in animals and plants and are critically important to many biological functions.

WSU researchers develop new technique to understand biology at the nanoscale

Pullman, WA | Posted on November 7th, 2018

The new technique could make it easier and less expensive for researchers to gain important information about many biological processes, from understanding the spread of infection in people to improving drug delivery techniques.



Led by graduate student Adnan Morshed and Prashanta Dutta, professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering ( https://mme.wsu.edu ), the work was published in Physical Review Fluids ( https://journals.aps.org/prfluids/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevFluids.3.103702 ) and funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health.



At the basis of much of biology are cells and, at even smaller scales, cell-like bubbles that float around in liquid doing critically important jobs. So, for instance, neurons communicate in our brain through vesicles that carry information and chemicals from one neuron to the next. The HIV virus is another tiny vesicle. Over time, the vesicle carrying HIV changes and becomes stiffer, which indicates that the virus is becoming more infectious.



But studying the properties of these tiny and critically important cellular sacs that travel through organisms in fluids has been difficult, especially when researchers get to the smallest floaters that are 40-100 nanometers in size. To study biological processes at tiny scales, the researchers use atomic force microscopes, which require removing the vesicles from their natural floating homes. The process is expensive, cumbersome and slow. Furthermore, by taking them out of their natural settings, the biological materials also don’t necessarily exhibit their natural behavior, said Dutta.



https://youtu.be/p8-lXc8yRaY



The WSU research team has developed a system that uses a microfluidic-based system and electric fields to better understand vesicles. Similar to a grocery store checker who identifies products as they are passed over a scanner, the researchers apply electrical fields in a liquid as the vesicle passes through a narrow pore. Because of the electric field, the vesicle moves, deforms or reacts differently depending on its chemical make-up. In the case of the HIV vesicles, for instance, the researchers should be able to see the electric field affect the stiffer, more infectious vesicle in a different way than a more flexible, less infectious vesicle. For drug delivery, the system could differentiate a vesicle that contains more or less of a drug — even if the two cells might look identical under a microscope.



“Our system is low-cost and high throughput,” said Dutta. “We can really scan hundreds of samples at a time.”



He added that they can change the speed of the process to allow researchers to more carefully observe property changes.



The researchers developed a model and tested it with synthetic liposomes, tiny sacs that are used for targeted drug delivery. They hope to begin testing the process soon with more realistic biological materials.



See WSU News, https://news.wsu.edu/2018/11/06/new-technique-developed-understand-nanoscale-biology

####

For more information, please click here

Contacts:
Prashanta Dutta, professor, School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, 509-335-7989,

Tina Hilding, communications director, Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture, 509-335-5095,

Copyright © Washington State Universit

If you have a comment, please Contact us.

Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.

Bookmark:
Delicious Digg Newsvine Google Yahoo Reddit Magnoliacom Furl Facebook

Related News Press

News and information

Researchers develop artificial building blocks of life March 8th, 2024

How surface roughness influences the adhesion of soft materials: Research team discovers universal mechanism that leads to adhesion hysteresis in soft materials March 8th, 2024

Two-dimensional bimetallic selenium-containing metal-organic frameworks and their calcinated derivatives as electrocatalysts for overall water splitting March 8th, 2024

Curcumin nanoemulsion is tested for treatment of intestinal inflammation: A formulation developed by Brazilian researchers proved effective in tests involving mice March 8th, 2024

Imaging

Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024

First direct imaging of small noble gas clusters at room temperature: Novel opportunities in quantum technology and condensed matter physics opened by noble gas atoms confined between graphene layers January 12th, 2024

The USTC realizes In situ electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy using single nanodiamond sensors November 3rd, 2023

Observation of left and right at nanoscale with optical force October 6th, 2023

Synthetic Biology

Rice University launches Rice Synthetic Biology Institute to improve lives January 12th, 2024

Seattle Hub for Synthetic Biology launched by Allen Institute, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and the University of Washington will turn cells into recording devices to unlock secrets of disease: First-of-its-kind research initiative will develop technologies to reveal how changes i December 8th, 2023

Cancer

University of Toronto researchers discover new lipid nanoparticle that shows muscle-specific mRNA delivery, reduces off-target effects: Study findings make significant contribution to generating tissue-specific ionizable lipids and prompts rethinking of mRNA vaccine design princi December 8th, 2023

Super-efficient laser light-induced detection of cancer cell-derived nanoparticles: Skipping ultracentrifugation, detection time reduced from hours to minutes! October 6th, 2023

Microfluidics/Nanofluidics

Implantable device shrinks pancreatic tumors: Taming pancreatic cancer with intratumoral immunotherapy April 14th, 2023

Computational system streamlines the design of fluidic devices: This computational tool can generate an optimal design for a complex fluidic device such as a combustion engine or a hydraulic pump December 9th, 2022

Researchers design new inks for 3D-printable wearable bioelectronics: Potential uses include printing electronic tattoos for medical tracking applications August 19th, 2022

Videos/Movies

New X-ray imaging technique to study the transient phases of quantum materials December 29th, 2022

Solvent study solves solar cell durability puzzle: Rice-led project could make perovskite cells ready for prime time September 23rd, 2022

Possible Futures

Two-dimensional bimetallic selenium-containing metal-organic frameworks and their calcinated derivatives as electrocatalysts for overall water splitting March 8th, 2024

Curcumin nanoemulsion is tested for treatment of intestinal inflammation: A formulation developed by Brazilian researchers proved effective in tests involving mice March 8th, 2024

The Access to Advanced Health Institute receives up to $12.7 million to develop novel nanoalum adjuvant formulation for better protection against tuberculosis and pandemic influenza March 8th, 2024

Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024

Nanomedicine

High-tech 'paint' could spare patients repeated surgeries March 8th, 2024

Researchers develop artificial building blocks of life March 8th, 2024

Curcumin nanoemulsion is tested for treatment of intestinal inflammation: A formulation developed by Brazilian researchers proved effective in tests involving mice March 8th, 2024

The Access to Advanced Health Institute receives up to $12.7 million to develop novel nanoalum adjuvant formulation for better protection against tuberculosis and pandemic influenza March 8th, 2024

Discoveries

What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells March 8th, 2024

Researchers’ approach may protect quantum computers from attacks March 8th, 2024

High-tech 'paint' could spare patients repeated surgeries March 8th, 2024

Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024

Announcements

What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells March 8th, 2024

Curcumin nanoemulsion is tested for treatment of intestinal inflammation: A formulation developed by Brazilian researchers proved effective in tests involving mice March 8th, 2024

The Access to Advanced Health Institute receives up to $12.7 million to develop novel nanoalum adjuvant formulation for better protection against tuberculosis and pandemic influenza March 8th, 2024

Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024

Interviews/Book Reviews/Essays/Reports/Podcasts/Journals/White papers/Posters

Researchers develop artificial building blocks of life March 8th, 2024

How surface roughness influences the adhesion of soft materials: Research team discovers universal mechanism that leads to adhesion hysteresis in soft materials March 8th, 2024

Curcumin nanoemulsion is tested for treatment of intestinal inflammation: A formulation developed by Brazilian researchers proved effective in tests involving mice March 8th, 2024

Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024

Nanobiotechnology

High-tech 'paint' could spare patients repeated surgeries March 8th, 2024

Researchers develop artificial building blocks of life March 8th, 2024

Curcumin nanoemulsion is tested for treatment of intestinal inflammation: A formulation developed by Brazilian researchers proved effective in tests involving mice March 8th, 2024

The Access to Advanced Health Institute receives up to $12.7 million to develop novel nanoalum adjuvant formulation for better protection against tuberculosis and pandemic influenza March 8th, 2024

NanoNews-Digest
The latest news from around the world, FREE




  Premium Products
NanoNews-Custom
Only the news you want to read!
 Learn More
NanoStrategies
Full-service, expert consulting
 Learn More











ASP
Nanotechnology Now Featured Books




NNN

The Hunger Project