Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have discovered that attaching polymeric nanoparticles to the surface of red blood cells dramatically increases the in vivo lifetime of the nanoparticles. The research, published in the July 07 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine, could offer applications for the delivery of drugs and circulating bioreactors.
The researchers say that it may be possible to keep the nanoparticles in circulation for a relatively long time, theoretically up to the circulation lifetime of a red blood cell – which is 120 days – if the binding between particles and the red blood cells is strengthened. The methodology is applicable to drugs that are effective while still attached to a red blood cell, although the researchers say that slow release from the red blood cell surface is also feasible.
Dr. Steven R. Goodman, Editor-in-Chief of the journal, said “this study dealing with the attachment of nanoparticles to red blood cells may also have important implications for future treatment of hematologic disorders. This fusion of modern nanobioscience with cell biology and hematology is precisely the type of interdisciplinary study that the new Experimental Biology and Medicine is interested in publishing.”
Experimental Biology and Medicine is a journal dedicated to the publication of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research in the biomedical sciences.
Source: http://www.sebm.org
