London, April 23: Scientists have developed a new technique to bind proteins to nanoparticles that can help make drugs "smarter" and more effective at reaching their target.
The new technique decorates gold nanoparticles with a protein of choice so that they can be used to tailor drug to more accurately target an area on the body, such as a cancer tumour.
Gold nanoparticles are spheres made of gold atoms having a diameter of only few billionths of a metre which can be coated with a biological protein and combined with drugs to enable the treatment to travel through the body and reach the affected area.
"Gold nanoparticles are a vital tool in new drug development and drug delivery systems. We have unlocked the key to binding proteins and molecules so that those drugs will be more effective," said Enrico Ferrari, a nanobiotechnologist from Britain's University of Lincoln.
Until now, the proteins used to coat the nanoparticles had to be mixed together with particles which do not have the ability to control the way they bind, possibly making the drug less effective.
However, the new method, published in the journal Nature Communications, enables pharmacologists to place the proteins onto the gold nanoparticles layer by layer in a specific order.
This maintains the integrity of the protein so that the drug is more effective, opening up possibilities for the development of nanomedicine.
"This method might help to design nanomedicines that do not need extensive chemical modification of a protein drug or a nano-carrier and therefore can be developed more easily and faster," Ferrari added.
Researchers took fragments of proteins from bacteria and flatworms, which when fused together were effective at binding to the gold nanoparticle surface and able to form stable bonds to any other protein.
By mixing this fusion protein with gold nanoparticles, it permanently binds to the gold surface while also being able to stably bind a target protein.
The novel method could also potentially be applied to biosensors and diagnostic kits that use gold, such as those used in clinical settings to identify ongoing infections in patients' blood, the researchers said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Two women assaulted for 'saying excuse me instead of speaking in Marathi'
Thane, Apr 8 (PTI): Two women, one of them carrying a baby in her arms, were on Tuesday beaten up in Dombivli in the district for allegedly saying "excuse me" instead of speaking in Marathi.
As a video of the incident went viral, police said they were conducting preliminary probe.
The incident took place in the morning when the women, who were on a two-wheeler, were entering the premises of the housing society where they lived.
When the woman who was riding the scooter said "excuse me" to a young man who was obstructing the entrance, he allegedly took offence, demanding that she speak in Marathi, she claimed.
The man, who lives on the ground floor of the same building, allegedly twisted the arm of the pillion rider, they said in a complaint filed at Vishnunagar police station.
Four or five women and two young men from his family gathered and allegedly beat up the two women. Eyewitnesses said they showed no concern for the nine-month-old baby.
'Excuse me' is a common courtesy and the accused's reaction was unwarranted, the complainant said.
Senior inspector Sanjay Pawar of Vishnu Nagar police station told PTI that investigation was underway.
No First Information Report has been registered yet, he said, adding that police were probing if the incident arose from a past dispute.
Workers of the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) had recently launched an agitation demanding that staff at banks in Maharashtra should speak to customers in Marathi.
The United Forum of Bank Unions wrote to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, stating that people claiming to be MNS activists have been visiting bank branches and intimidating staff. Thackeray later asked his workers to cease the agitation.
Dombivali | इंग्रजीत "ExcuseMe" म्हणणाऱ्या तरुणींना मारहाण, तिघांविरोधात गुन्हा#Dombivali #Crime #MarathiNews pic.twitter.com/ChDQzZqMPY
— Navarashtra (@navarashtra) April 8, 2025
