Tag Archives: Nano Letters

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A step toward minute factories that produce medicine inside the body

A step toward minute factories that produce medicine inside the body - Scientists are reporting an advance toward treating disease with minute capsules containing not drugs -- but the DNA and other biological machinery for making the drug. In an article in ACS' journal Nano Letters, they describe engineering micro- and nano-sized capsules that contain the genetically coded instructions, plus the read-out gear and assembly line for protein synthesis that can be switched on with an external signal. Reference: D. Anderson et al, 'Remotely Activated Protein-Producing Nanoparticles,' Nano Letters, 2012; 12 (6): 2685 DOI: 10.1021/nl2036047

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Gold nanoantennas detect proteins

Gold nanoantennas detect proteins - Scientists at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in Germany have developed a new method of observing individual proteins. The method developed by the group of Mainz chemists led by Carsten Sönnichsen is based on the use of gold nanoparticles. Reference: I. Ament et al., Single Unlabeled Protein Detection on Individual Plasmonic Nanoparticles, Nano Letters, 12:2, 1092-1095, 23 January 2012, doi:10.1021/nl204496g