Category Archives: BioEngineering

Washington, Feb 23 (ANI): A new injectable hydrogel that could be an effective and safe treatment for tissue damage caused by heart attacks has been developed by researchers at the University of California, San Diego.

Karen Christman, a professor in the Department of Bioengineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, explained that therapies like the hydrogel would be a welcome development since there are an estimated 785,000 new heart attack cases in the United States each year, with no established treatment for repairing the resulting damage to cardiac tissue.

The hydrogel is made from cardiac connective tissue that is stripped of heart muscle cells through a cleansing process, freeze-dried and milled into powder form, and then liquefied into a fluid that can be easily injected into the heart. nce it hits body temperature, the liquid turns into a semi-solid, porous gel that encourages cells to repopulate areas of damaged cardiac tissue and to preserve heart function, according to Christman.

The hydrogel forms a scaffold to repair the tissue and possibly provides biochemical signals that prevent further deterioration in the surrounding tissues.

"It helps to promote a positive remodeling-type response, not a pro-inflammatory one in the damaged heart," stated Christman.

What's more, the researchers' experiments show that the gel also can be injected through a catheter, a method that is minimally invasive and does not require surgery or general anesthesia.

New, unpublished work by her research team suggests that the gel can improve heart function in pigs with cardiac damage, which brings this potential therapy one step closer to humans, according to Christman.

There are few injectable cardiac therapies in development designed to be used in large animals such as pigs, which have a heart that is similar in size and anatomy to the human heart, Christman explained.

"Most of the materials that people have looked at have been tested in rats or mice, and they are injectable via a needle and syringe. However, almost all of them are not compatible with catheter delivery and would gel too quickly, clogging the catheter during the procedure," she said.

In experiments with rats, the gel was not rejected by the body and did not trigger arrhythmic heart beating, providing some assurance that the gel will be similarly safe for humans, the researchers noted.

Christman has co-founded a company, Ventrix, Inc., to bring the gel to clinical trials within the next year.

They reported their study in the Feb. 21 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. (ANI)

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Now, injectable gel that could repair tissue damaged by heart attack

IBM and IBN Treating MRSA with Nanotechnology and Nanomedicine in February?s Edition of Healthcare Global

Carlsbad, CA, February 23, 2012 --(PR.com)-- In April 2011, researchers from IBM and the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) announced that they had stumbled on “a nanomedicine breakthrough.” They discovered a new type of polymer which was able to detect and destroy bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics and infectious diseases such as MRSA. It is now hoped the discovery will have the potential to revolutionise treatments for MRSA and other superbugs which are becoming increasingly common in hospitals and healthcare environments across the world.

If commercially manufactured, these biodegradable nanostructures could be injected directly into the body or applied topically to the skin, treating skin infections through consumer products like deodorant, soap and hand sanitizer, as well as being used to help heal wounds, tuberculosis and lung infections.

To get a more up-to-date picture of how the discovery and development of this innovative new technique is progressing, Healthcare Global caught up with Dr James Hedrick, an IBM research scientist, in its March issue.

To read this article in full, visit: http://www.healthcareglobal.com/healthcare_technology/treating-mrsa-with-nanotechnology-and-nanomedicine

About Healthcare Global

Healthcare Global is a pioneering digital media site for Healthcare professionals and executives responsible for all aspects of managing this environment. Healthcare Global covers solutions that enable global healthcare executives to improve the way they manage their operations. Healthcare Global is the industry-dedicated arm of the WDM Group. Founded in 2007 by entrepreneur Glen White, WDM Group retains a diversified portfolio of websites, magazines, mobile apps, daily news feeds and weekly e-newsletters that leverage technology to innovatively deliver high-quality content, analytical data, and industry news.

Healthcare Global is headquartered in San Diego, California, with additional offices in Boston, Toronto, Mumbai and Norwich, England. For more information, contact 760-827-7800 or visit http://www.healthcareglobal.com.

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IBM and IBN Treating MRSA with Nanotechnology and Nanomedicine in February’s Edition of Healthcare Global

URBANA — Three University of Illinois professors have been awarded prestigious Sloan Research Fellowships in recognition of their potentially ground-breaking research in physics, math and bioengineering.

Neal Dalal, Vera Mikyoung Hur and Sheng Zhong are among 126 early-career scientists and researchers from 51 colleges and universities chosen for a two-year fellowship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The program awards $50,000 for the scientists to use toward their research.

"Today's Sloan Research Fellows are tomorrow's Nobel Prize winners," Paul Joskow, president of the foundation, said in a release. "These outstanding men and women are responsible for some of the most exciting science being done today."

Dalal, an astronomy professor, investigates the fundamental physics of cosmology, including the structure of the universe, the formation of galaxies and mysterious components in the universe such as dark matter and dark energy, according to a UI news release.

He developed a simple model describing the physical properties of dark matter halos, which surround all observed stars and galaxies. His group devised an entirely new probe of inflation, or expansion, in the early universe based on the clustering of galaxies and their host halos.

Dalal received his doctorate in astronomy from the University of California at San Diego in 2002. He received a Hubble Fellowship from the Space Telescope Science Institute and was a senior research associate at the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics before joining the UI faculty in 2011.

Hur is a mathematician who models water waves, from ripples to tsunamis, according to the Sloan Foundation. She studies nonlinear partial differential equations that arise in physical contexts, with particular interest in wave motions at the surface of water and related interfacial fluids flows. She explores geometric and physical properties of permanent and progressive waves in the ocean. Recently, she has been also working on problems at the interface of partial differential equations and probability.

Hur earned her doctorate in mathematics at Brown University in 2006. She was an instructor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before joining the UI faculty in 2009.

Zhong, a professor of bioengineering, studies causal relationships among gene regulation, cell differentiation and cancer. His lab pioneered systems biology modeling, stem-cell engineering and single-cell technologies.

Zhong made important discoveries on the genetic differences of early embryonic development among humans, mice and cows. His work helped open the field of "comparative epigenomics" — using cross-species comparison to annotate genomes.

Zhong earned his doctorate in biostatistics at Harvard University in 2005. He is also a professor of biophysics and neuroscience and affiliated with the departments of computer science, statistics, and cell and developmental biology; the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology; the Institute for Genomic Biology; and the National Center for Supercomputer Applications.

Sloan research fellowships have been awarded since 1955. Candidates are nominated by their peers and selected by an independent panel of senior scholars.

For a complete list of winners, visit: http://www.sloan.org/fellowships/page/21

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Three UI professors win Sloan fellowships

DNA2.0 today announced the selection of Cosmo Bio Co., Ltd. as the non-exclusive distributor in Japan for DNA2.0’s complete line of bioengineering solutions.

Menlo Park, Calif. (PRWEB) February 21, 2012

DNA2.0 today announced the selection of Cosmo Bio Co., Ltd. as the non-exclusive distributor in Japan for DNA2.0’s complete line of bioengineering solutions, including gene synthesis powered by GeneGPS for maximal protein expression as well as the company’s protein engineering solutions—ProteinGPS for rational protein design and Protein Variant Libraries for directed evolution. Cosmo Bio is a well-established distributor of reagents, instruments and services for researchers in academia, government and the biopharma industry, with over 20 years experience and 200 sales outlets throughout Japan.

“We are pleased to bring DNA2.0’s innovative approaches to gene design and optimization, gene synthesis and protein engineering to Japan through Cosmo Bio,” said Claes Gustafsson, COO and cofounder of DNA2.0. “The life science research and drug discovery community in Japan represents a significant market opportunity for DNA2.0, and Cosmo Bio’s customer-centered reputation makes it the natural choice to provide in-country services and support tailored to Japanese research needs.”

International customers can access DNA2.0’s Ph.D. experts in the fields of protein expression, gene synthesis and bioinformatics directly, however this distribution agreement with Cosmo Bio offers Japanese customers added flexibility and time savings, along with service and support in Japanese. All DNA2.0 sequences, tools and solutions are made at the company’s state-of-the-art facility in Menlo Park, ensuring the greatest security for intellectual property.

About DNA2.0

DNA2.0 is the leading bioengineering solutions provider. Founded in 2003, DNA2.0 offers an integrated pipeline of solutions for the research community, including gene design, optimization, synthesis and cloning, as well as platforms for protein and strain engineering. It is the fastest provider of synthetic genes—based in the US with a global customer base encompassing academia, government and the pharmaceutical, chemical, agricultural and biotechnology industries. DNA2.0 is by far the most published synthetic gene vendor, providing expert support to and collaboration with scientists. DNA2.0 explores novel applications for synthetic genes and is exploiting the synergy between highly efficient gene design and synthesis processes and new protein optimization technologies. DNA2.0’s tools and solutions are fueling the transformation of biology from a discovery science to an engineering discipline. The company is privately held and is headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif. For more information, please visit http://www.DNA20.com.

About Cosmo Bio

Cosmo Bio delivers the most up-to-date technical information and provides products made by world-class manufacturers to laboratories at educational, research and testing institutes working in the field of life science throughout Japan and around the world. The company takes pride in a service that fulfills the needs of our customers with extensive product lines and related information. Making full use of an international network, coupled with highly reliable information, Cosmo Bio supports the life science community with the high levels of commitment and responsibility required to maintain the trust of valued customers. For more information, please visit http://www.cosmobio.co.jp/index_e.asp.

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Eric Schubert
DNA 2.0
415-939-4366
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DNA2.0 Partners with Cosmo Bio to Deliver Bioengineering Solutions to Japanese Researchers

SAN DIEGO — University of California, San Diego researchers have developed a new injectable hydrogel that could be an effective and safe treatment for tissue damage caused by heart attacks.

The study by Karen Christman and colleagues appears in today's (Feb. 21) issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Christman is a professor in the Department of Bioengineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering and has co-founded a company, Ventrix, Inc., to bring the gel to clinical trials within the next year.

Therapies like the hydrogel would be a welcome development, Christman explained, since there are an estimated 785,000 new heart attack cases in the United States each year, with no established treatment for repairing the resulting damage to cardiac tissue.

The hydrogel is made from cardiac connective tissue that is stripped of heart muscle cells through a cleansing process, freeze-dried and milled into powder form, and then liquefied into a fluid that can be easily injected into the heart. Once it hits body temperature, the liquid turns into a semi-solid, porous gel that encourages cells to repopulate areas of damaged cardiac tissue and to preserve heart function, according to Christman. The hydrogel forms a scaffold to repair the tissue and possibly provides biochemical signals that prevent further deterioration in the surrounding tissues.

“It helps to promote a positive remodeling-type response, not a pro-inflammatory one in the damaged heart,” Christman said.

What’s more, the researchers’ experiments show that the gel also can be injected through a catheter, a method that is minimally invasive and does not require surgery or general anesthesia.

New, unpublished work by her research team suggests that the gel can improve heart function in pigs with cardiac damage, which brings this potential therapy one step closer to humans, said Christman.

There are few injectable cardiac therapies in development designed to be used in large animals such as pigs, which have a heart that is similar in size and anatomy to the human heart, Christman explained. “Most of the materials that people have looked at have been tested in rats or mice, and they are injectable via a needle and syringe. However, almost all of them are not compatible with catheter delivery and would gel too quickly, clogging the catheter during the procedure."

In experiments with rats, the gel was not rejected by the body and did not trigger arrhythmic heart beating, providing some assurance that the gel will be similarly safe for humans, the researchers note.

Christman has an equity interest in Ventrix, Inc., a company that may potentially benefit from the research results, and also serves on the company’s Scientific Advisory Board. The terms of this arrangement have been reviewed and approved by the University of California, San Diego in accordance with its conflict of interest policies.

The study’s co-authors include Jennifer Singelyn, Priya Sundaramurthy, Todd Johnson, Pamela Schup-Magoffin, Diane Hu, Denver Faulk, Jean Wang and Kristine M. Mayle in the Department of Bioengineering; Kendra Bartels, Anthony N. DeMaria, and Nabil Dib of the UC San Diego  School of Medicine; and Michael Salvatore and Adam M. Kinsey of Ventrix, Inc. The research was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health Director’s New Innovator Award Program (part of the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research), the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation, and the National Science Foundation.

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Injectable gel could repair damaged cardiac tissue

SOURCE: Healthcare Global

NORWICH, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwire - Feb 21, 2012) - In April 2011 researchers from IBM and the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) announced that they had stumbled on "a nanomedicine breakthrough." They discovered a new type of polymer which was able to detect and destroy bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics and infectious diseases such as MRSA. It is now hoped the discovery will have the potential to revolutionise treatments for MRSA and other superbugs which are becoming increasingly common in hospitals and healthcare environments across the world.

If commercially manufactured, these biodegradable nanostructures could be injected directly into the body or applied topically to the skin, treating skin infections through consumer products like deodorant, soap and hand sanitizer, as well as being used to help heal wounds, tuberculosis and lung infections.

To get a more up-to-date picture of how the discovery and development of this innovative new technique is progressing, Healthcare Global caught up with Dr James Hedrick, an IBM research scientist, in its March issue.

To read this article in full, visit http://www.healthcareglobal.com or read the February issue Healthcare Global digital magazine.

About Healthcare Global

Healthcare Global is a pioneering digital media site for Healthcare professionals and executives responsible for all aspects of managing this environment. Healthcare Global covers solutions that enable global healthcare executives to improve the way they manage their operations. Healthcare Global is the industry-dedicated arm of the WDM Group. Founded in 2007 by entrepreneur Glen White, WDM Group retains a diversified portfolio of websites, magazines, mobile apps, daily news feeds and weekly e-newsletters that leverage technology to innovatively deliver high-quality content, analytical data, and industry news.

Healthcare Global is headquartered in San Diego, California, with additional offices in Boston, Toronto, Mumbai and Norwich, England. For more information, contact 760-827-7800 or visit http://www.healthcareglobal.com.

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IBM and IBN Treating MRSA With Nanotechnology and Nanomedicine in February's Edition of Healthcare Global