Indian-American helps develop synthetic red blood cells
December 18th, 2009 - 5:41 pm ICT by IANSWashington, Dec 18 (IANS) Researchers led by an Indian-American have developed synthetic particles that closely mimic the characteristics and key functions of natural red blood cells (RBCs), including softness, flexibility, and the ability to carry oxygen.
The primary function of natural RBC is to carry oxygen, and the synthetic RBCs or sRBCs do that very well, retaining 90 percent of their oxygen-binding capacity after a week.
The sRBCs also, however, have been shown to deliver therapeutic drugs effectively and with controlled release, and to carry well-distributed contrast agents for enhanced resolution in diagnostic imaging.
“This ability… really opens up a whole new realm of possibilities in drug delivery and similar applications,” said study leader Samir Mitragotri, chemical engineering professor at the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB).
Mitragotri, who did his B.Sc in chemical engineering from University Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, in 1992, said: “We know that we can further engineer sRBCs to carry additional therapeutic agents, both encapsulated in the sRBC and on its surface.”
Mitragotri, his research group, and their collaborators from the University of Michigan succeeded in synthesising the particles by creating a polymer doughnut-shaped template, coating the template with up to nine layers of hemoglobin and other proteins, then removing the core template.
The resulting particles have the same size and flexibility, and can carry as much oxygen, as natural RBCs, said an UCSB release.
The flexibility, absent in “conventional” biomaterial carriers, gives the sRBCs the ability to flow through channels smaller than their resting diametre, stretching in response to flow and regaining their discoidal shape upon exiting the capillary, just as their natural counterparts do.
The findings appear online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
- Synthetic blood gets closer to reality - Jan 11, 2011
- Scientists inch closer to synthetic blood - Jan 11, 2011
- Fake red blood cells with agility of real cells created from polymers - Dec 15, 2009
- Vaccine-delivering nanoparticles may help fight HIV, malaria - Feb 23, 2011
- Synthetic cells that act like real ones designed - Jul 21, 2010
- Now, living, breathing human lung-on-a-chip - Jun 25, 2010
- Higher levels of folate in RBCs linked to silenced tumor-suppressors - Dec 23, 2010
- Artificial cilia that respond to heat and light created - Sep 24, 2010
- Now, a new system to kill tumours from inside - Oct 04, 2010
- Ultrasound helps drugs get under your skin - Sep 17, 2012
- New system may cut years off development time of new antibiotics - Feb 13, 2011
- Mathematical model of red blood cells' life cycle may predict anemia risk - Nov 13, 2010
- Finding paves way for new personalized treatments to target inflammation - Apr 05, 2011
- World's thinnest material could come in handy as dispersing agent - Jun 15, 2010
- 30 tonnes of drug-making chemicals found in Mexico - Jul 10, 2011
Tags: academy of science, binding capacity, california santa barbara, capillary, chemical technology, contrast agents, diagnostic imaging, doughnut, drug delivery, hemoglobin, national academy of science, natural counterparts, proceedings of the national academy, proceedings of the national academy of science, red blood cells, srbc, study leader, therapeutic agents, therapeutic drugs, university of california santa barbara