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.
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RSS man's defamation case against Rahul: Key witness unavailable, hearing adjourned to Dec 20
Thane (PTI): A court in Bhiwandi in Thane district on Saturday adjourned the hearing in the criminal defamation case filed against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi by a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker to December 20 due to non-availability of a crucial prosecution witness.
Advocate Narayan Iyer, counsel for Rahul Gandhi, confirmed the adjournment, stating that the witness, Ashok Saykar, currently Deputy Superintendent of Police in Barshi in Solapur, could not remain present due to personal reasons.
Saykar's evidence is now likely to be recorded on December 29.
His testimony is considered key because he, as police sub inspector in 2014, conducted the preliminary inquiry into the private defamation matter under Section 202 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
It was on the basis of Saykar's submitted report that the court subsequently issued process (summons) against Rahul Gandhi under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The criminal defamation case was filed by local RSS worker Rajesh Kunte following a speech given by Rahul Gandhi at an election rally near Bhiwandi on March 6, 2014.
The case stems from the Congress leader's alleged statement that "the RSS people killed (Mahatma) Gandhi."
The matter is being heard by Bhiwandi Joint Civil Judge, Junior Division, P M Kolse.
The hearing had previously been adjourned on November 15 after the complainant's counsel, Advocate Prabodh Jaywant, moved an application seeking permission to examine Saykar, who had submitted the probe report to the court.
The matter was originally scheduled for November 29 but was deferred to December 6 after Rahul Gandhi's legal team sought an adjournment citing their non-availability. The proceedings will now resume on December 20.
