Nanobowls are a Potential Way to Deliver Treatments for Alzheimer’s Disease
Written by AZoNanoMar 1 2021
Researchers still have a long path to tread before they can treat Alzheimer’s Disease, partially because the protein aggregates that can turn into brain plaques, a characteristic attribute of the disease, are challenging to analyze.
The amyloid beta protein that tangles to form the hallmark Alzheimer’s brain plaques, cling to ultra-small “bowls,” called nanobowls, scientists find. They can use these nanobowls to remove the toxic amyloid aggregates and further study them. Image Credit: Vrinda Sant.
The plaques are formed due to the amyloid beta protein, the shape of which gets altered and tangled in the brain. The investigation of these protein aggregates in tissue samples often requires techniques that can disrupt them further, which makes it hard to figure out what occurs there.
Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: Nanoparticles help untangle Alzheimer's disease amyloid beta plaques: New research shows that the protein that causes Alzheimer's disease's hallmark brain plaques clings to certain bowl-shaped nanoparticles, allowing researchers to better understand the disease and potentially pr nanotech-now.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nanotech-now.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Scientists are still a long way from being able to treat Alzheimer's Disease, in part because the protein aggregates that can become brain plaques, a hallmark of the disease, are hard to study.
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IMAGE: The amyloid beta protein that tangles to form the hallmark Alzheimer s brain plaques, cling to ultra-small bowls, called nanobowls, scientists find. They can use these nanobowls to remove the toxic. view more
Credit: Illustration courtesy of Vrinda Sant.
ROCKVILLE, MD - Scientists are still a long way from being able to treat Alzheimer s Disease, in part because the protein aggregates that can become brain plaques, a hallmark of the disease, are hard to study. The plaques are caused by the amyloid beta protein, which gets misshapen and tangled in the brain. To study these protein aggregates in tissue samples, researchers often have to use techniques that can further disrupt them, making it difficult to figure out what s going on. But new research by Vrinda Sant, a graduate student, and Madhura Som, a recent PhD graduate, in the lab of Ratnesh Lal at the University of California, San Diego, provides a new technique for studying amyloid beta and could be