Category Archives: BioEngineering

Keeping track of vaccinations remains a major challenge in the developing world, and even in many developed countries, paperwork gets lost, and parents forget whether their child is up to date. Now a group of Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers has developed a novel way to address this problem: embedding the record directly into the skin.

Along with the vaccine, a child would be injected with a bit of dye that is invisible to the naked eye but easily seen with a special cell-phone filter, combined with an app that shines near-infrared light onto the skin. The dye would be expected to last up to five years, according to tests on pig and rat skin and human skin in a dish.

The systemwhich has not yet been tested in childrenwould provide quick and easy access to vaccination history, avoid the risk of clerical errors, and add little to the cost or risk of the procedure, according to the study, published Wednesday in Science Translational Medicine.

Especially in developing countries where medical records may not be as complete or as accessible, there can be value in having medical information directly associated with a person, says Mark Prausnitz, a bioengineering professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, who was not involved in the new study. Such a system of recording medical information must be extremely discreet and acceptable to the person whose health information is being recorded and his or her family, he says. This, I think, is a pretty interesting way to accomplish those goals.

The research, conducted by M.I.T. bioengineers Robert Langer and Ana Jaklenec and their colleagues, uses a patch of tiny needles called microneedles to provide an effective vaccination without a teeth-clenching jab. Microneedles are embedded in a Band-Aid-like device that is placed on the skin; a skilled nurse or technician is not required. Vaccines delivered with microneedles also may not need to be refrigerated, reducing both the cost and difficulty of delivery, Langer and Jaklenec say.

Delivering the dye required the researchers to find something that was safe and would last long enough to be useful. Thats really the biggest challenge that we overcame in the project, Jaklenec says, adding that the team tested a number of off-the-shelf dyes that could be used in the body but could not find any that endured when exposed to sunlight. The team ended up using a technology called quantum dots, tiny semiconducting crystals that reflect light and were originally developed to label cells during research. The dye has been shown to be safe in humans.

The approach raises some privacy concerns, says Prausnitz, who helped invent microneedle technology and directs Georgia Techs Center for Drug Design, Development and Delivery. There may be other concerns that patients have about being tattooed, carrying around personal medical information on their bodies or other aspects of this unfamiliar approach to storing medical records, he says. Different people and different cultures will probably feel differently about having an invisible medical tattoo.

When people were still getting vaccinated for smallpox, which has since been eradicated worldwide, they got a visible scar on their arm from the shot that made it easy to identify who had been vaccinated and who had not, Jaklenec says. But obviously, we didnt want to give people a scar, she says, noting that her team was looking for an identifier that would be invisible to the naked eye. The researchers also wanted to avoid technologies that would raise even more privacy concerns, such as iris scans and databases with names and identifiable data, she says.

The work was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and came about because of a direct request from Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates himself, who has been supporting efforts to wipe out diseases such as polio and measles across the world, Jaklenec says. If we dont have good data, its really difficult to eradicate disease, she says.

The researchers hope to add more detailed information to the dots, such as the date of vaccination. Along with them, the team eventually wants to inject sensors that could also potentially be used to track aspects of health such as insulin levels in diabetics, Jaklenec says.

This approach is likely to be one of many trying to solve the problem of storing individuals medical information, says Ruchit Nagar, a fourth-year student at Harvard Medical School, who also was not involved in the new study. He runs a company, called Khushi Baby, that is also trying to create a system for tracking such information, including vaccination history, in the developing world.

Working in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan, Nagar and his team have devised a necklace, resembling one worn locally, which compresses, encrypts and password protects medical information. The necklace uses the same technology as radio-frequency identification (RFID) chipssuch as those employed in retail clothing or athletes race bibsand provides health care workers access to a mothers pregnancy history, her childs growth chart and vaccination history, and suggestions on what vaccinations and other treatments may be needed, he says. But Nagar acknowledges the possible concerns all such technology poses. Messaging and cultural appropriateness need to be considered, he says.

Read more:
Invisible Ink Could Reveal whether Kids Have Been Vaccinated - Scientific American

Elias Zegeye uses an LTQ Mass Spectrometer at PNNL in Aaron Wrights laboratory.

By Karen Hunt, Office of Research

Elias Zegeye, a chemical engineering PhD student in the joint Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)-Washington State University (WSU) Distinguished Graduate Research Program (DGRP), has a vision for research that could make a difference.

Zegeyes research focuses on how soil nutritional and physical environments shape soil microbiomes the interactive microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi that are associated with soil and plants. He is working on developing predictive tools that could assist in better understanding the ecological functions of soil microbials under varying conditions.

The research has the potential to be very useful for farmers in addressing soil management and improving crop production and yields now and in the decades ahead. The importance of Zegeyes research was recently highlighted by the Department of Energy and featured online by the American Society of Microbiology. The predictive model will reduce complexity in studying the soil microbes and assist in better understanding the ecological mechanisms and functions that impact soil health, sustainability, and yield potential.

Zegeye works with and is advised by Aaron Wright, a scientist based at PNNL who helps to guide, mentor, and share research expertise with Zegeye. Wright is also anadjunct research professor in the Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering.

WSU-PNNL joint-appointees are distinguished scientists in their expertise and devote extensive time and attention on the progress of students research, says Zegeye. Moreover, the WSU-PNNL joint-appointee helps to maximize the potential, knowledge and experience of students by providing independent research for the student. Additionally, they help students to collaborate and get mentorship from other senior scientists at PNNL, which is important for the student to broaden their research and project understanding from different scientific viewpoints.

The DGRP recently announced its call for applications for its fourth student cohort. DGRP students complete their coursework and preliminary exam at a WSU campus. After this point, students transfer to PNNLs Tri-Cities campus. The application process is undertaken by interested co-advisors at WSU and PNNL who submit a joint-DGRP application online. The priority deadline for DGRP applications is January 10, 2020.

Link:
PNNL-WSU research has potential for high impact on crop production and yields - WSU News

Bahman Anvari, a professor of bioengineering in the Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering,has received a $300,000 Early Concept Grant for Exploratory Research, or EAGER, grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a dual imaging technique for improved staging and localization of ovarian cancer before and during surgery. The project is a collaboration with Vikas Kundra, a radiologist at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

The proposed approach uses a fluorescent dye embedded in a nanosized liposome that glows when a light shines on it, and can be viewed optically. It provides information about the size of tumor nodules smaller than 1 millimeter that cannot be otherwise be visualized accurately by current imaging methods. The same liposomal construct is also loaded with a magnetic resonance agent so that MRI can be used for determining the stage of development and pinpointing the precise location.

Using dual imaging modalities you can determine the stage and how widely spread the cancer is, Anvari said.

Fluorescence imaging has better resolution and can spot tiny tumors that MRI cant see, which makes it useful during surgery. Surgeons can shine a light while they are operating and fluorescence will help them find small tumors to remove.

The new dual imaging modality could reduce the number of surgeries required to remove ovarian tumors by making it possible to locate and stage them accurately before surgery and ensuring that anything missed by the MRI is located during the surgery. The dual imaging modality will be tested in mice.

Excerpt from:
A dual imaging modality to improve ovarian cancer treatment - UC Riverside

By Michelle Morgante, UC Merced

Proteins are miniscule machines inside the body, about 10,000 times smaller than the thickness of human hair. They control all the processes of life like how cells communicate to each other, how the immune system combats infection, how muscles contract, and how oxygen is picked up in the lungs and delivered to those very same muscles.

Proteins can do all of this because they change shape, assemble and interact with other biomolecules in response to specific cues. This general property makes proteins extremely attractive targets for a variety of applications in medicine, environment, food industry and energy. But it also has proven very difficult to harness. Now, bioengineering Professor Victor Muoz has made a key discovery that could allow scientists to engineer adaptive proteins and convert them into powerful technological applications, including smart medicines.

In a paper published Dec. 13 in Nature Communications, Muoz and a team of researchers describe how they were able to engineer proteins to form assemblies, dissociate and change shape in response to signals. The discovery could allow scientists to, for example, use proteins to deliver drugs in a way that is less toxic and more targeted than current practices.

Proteins in their natural state are easily passed through the kidney, meaning they are not in the blood long enough to act as an effective medicine.

But when a protein makes an assembly, Muoz said. It forms structures that are larger and sturdier and dont get secreted out of the kidney. They stay in the blood for a longer time.

Muoz, who is director of UC Merceds Center for Cellular and Bio-Molecular Machines (CCBM-CREST), said research for this project began a decade ago and has involved collaboration from several groups around the world. The work to figure out how to engineer proteins to act as nanomachines has been challenging and tortuous.

They do all these complicated things and are so small. That means their design principles and organization are incredibly sophisticated, he said. People have been able to design proteins that will form particular assemblies of many different shapes, but they have not been able to make them adaptive so they switch their shape and properties in response to stimuli.

"This opens the gate for developing drugs that are based on proteins in a way they could be delivered as inactive assemblies that remain in the blood as needed to then be activated on cue at a given time or in a specific location in the body."

director, Center for Cellular and Bio-Molecular Machines

The discovery may lead to important applications in biosensor research, medicine, diagnostics, vaccines, bioremediation anything you could imagine, Muoz said.

In medical applications, for example, proteins engineered this way could become a new technology for the smart delivery of specific drugs.

This would have enormous advantages over conventional drugs, which are much less specific, more toxic and can cause a range of harmful side-effects. It could also help store an inactive version of the protein in blood for a relatively long time, eliminating the short lifespan curse of current protein pharmaceuticals.

This opens the gate for developing drugs that are based on proteins in a way they could be delivered as inactive assemblies that remain in the blood as needed to then be activated on cue at a given time or in a specific location in the body, Muoz said.

The next step, Muoz said, will be to try the process in other systems and see whether it can be generalized. This was a proof of concept. Next, wed like to target systems that have more interesting applications to exploit the possibility of making this into a real technology thats useful.

See original here:
Engineered Protein Assemblies that Respond to Cues Open Path for Smart, Protein-Based Medicines | Newsroom - UC Merced University News

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Wearable Healthcare Devices and Services Market 2019 Future Growth and Opportunities with Dazzling Key Players are Apple, Fitbit, Google, Samsung, 3L...

Dr ZuFu Lu with PhD student, Stephanie Yee.

Despite the capacity of bone to rejuvenate itself, repairing and regenerating large bone defects and healing complex bone fractures remains a major clinical challenge for the health industry.

Biomedical engineer,Dr ZuFu Lusresearch has identified a protein that reprograms human fibroblast cells into functional bone cells (cells responsible for healing).

We hope this approach will have significant advantages over other commonly used cells, potentially leading to a shift in the current paradigm of bone regenerative medicine, said Dr Lu.

Inspired by the performance of highly mineralised, naturally occurring materials such as bone, teeth, enamel and seashells,Dr Mohammad Mirkhalafhas developed and patented a class of ceramic 3D- and 4D-printing techniques.

Dr Mirkhalaf has developed light-based 3D and 4D printing procedures for ceramic implants that are designed for different parts of the musculoskeletal system, such as for hip or femur implants.

The printing process duplicates the way naturally durable materials grow, resulting in bioceramic implants with the overall shape, internal architecture, biology and mechanics like natural products, such as bone, Dr Mirkhalaf said.

As a result, the printed products are ideal for the repair or replacement of the hard tissues of the musculoskeletal system. We hope these advances will help millions of people around the world suffering from bone conditions.

PhD student Pooria Lesani is developing nanobiosensing technology in the hope of creating a method for the early diagnosis and monitoring of diseases such as Parkinsons and Alzheimers disease.

Nanobiosensors are devices that measure a biochemical or biological activity in the body using any electronic, optical, or magnetic technology through a compact probe. Mr Lesani is using fluorescence technology to aid in the measurement of chemical concentrations and biomolecular activity in the body.

Early diagnosisof disease generally increases the chances of successful treatment. We hope the development of fluorescent nanobiosensors will allow for non-invasive and accurate detection of potential diseases and disorders at the very early stages, Mr Lesani said.

Read the rest here:
$10.5m facility to boost bio-engineering research - The University of Sydney - News - The University of Sydney