full issue - Association of Biotechnology and Pharmacy

Current Trends in Biotechnology and PharmacyVol. 5 (1) i-vii January 2011. ISSN 0973-8916 (Print), 2230-7303 (Online)IVchemists created a twin nanoparticle thatspecifically targets the Her-2-positive tumor cell,a type of malignant cell that affects up to 30percent of breast cancer patients. Theresearchers created the twin nanoparticle bybinding one gold (Au) nanoparticle with an ironoxide(Fe3O4) nanoparticle. On one end, theyattached a synthetic protein antibody to the ironoxidenanoparticle. On the other end, theyattached cisplatin to the gold nanoparticle. Visually,the whole contraption looks like an elongateddumbbell, but it may be better to think of it as avehicle, equipped with a very good GPS system,that is ferrying a very important passenger. Inthis case, the GPS comes from the iron-oxidenanoparticle, which homes in on a Her-2 breastcancercell like a guided missile. The nanoparticlevehicle “docks” on the tumor cell when theantibody and the antigen become connected.Once docked, the vehicle unloads its “passenger,”the cisplatin, into the malignant cell. Thecombination nanoparticle binds to the Her-2 tumorcell and unloads the cancer-fighting drug cisplatindirectly into the infected cell. The result is greatersuccess at killing the cancer while minimizing theanti-cancer drug’s side effects. In laboratory tests,the gold-iron oxide nanoparticle combinationsuccessfully targeted the cancer cells andreleased the anti-cancer drugs into the malignantcells, killing the cells in up to 80 percent of cases.M. HarithaNew Markers for Allergic Disorders Derivedfrom Analysis of Medical DatabasesResearchers at the University ofGothenburg, Sweden developed new methods foranalysing medical databases that can be used toidentify diagnostic markers more quickly and topersonalise medication for allergic disorders. Theycould also reduce the need for animal trials inclinical studies. The study builds on data analysesof freely available medical databases representingstudies of countless numbers of patients in thePubMed database, and microarray data in anothermajor database. The use of microarrays is amethod that allows scientists to study all 20,000human genes at the same time for variousdisorders. Groups of researchers in Gothenburg,Oslo and Rome have developed computationalmethods to simulate how a change in theinteraction between several different genes in thelymphocytes (a kind of white blood cell) controlsthe immune system. They identified the genes byreviewing abstracts of all 18 million articlesincluded in PubMed, and then constructed anetwork model of how these genes interact. Theresearchers then carried out data simulations ofhow the network model reacted to repeatedexposure to particles, which resulted in fourreaction patterns, one of which was to suppressthe immune system, while the other three wereto trigger it in various ways. These methodsbecome increasingly important in the future, asthe huge amount of information in medicaldatabases is growing all the time. This informationcould serve as an important resource forresearchers in their endeavours to investigate andverify medical hypotheses. They could also meanquicker and better-designed experiments and theirresults could generate new knowledge aboutdiagnostic markers or new medicines.N.Vijaya SreeNew Method for Combating Prostate CancerProstate cancer is the second leading causeof cancer-related death for men. Presenttreatments for metastatic prostate cancer (cancercells that spread to other parts of the body) includehormonal therapy, chemotherapy andradiotherapy, which frequently have serious sideeffects. The well known drug, paclitaxel, exhibitsa wide spectrum of anti-tumor activity. However,its therapeutic application in cancer therapy islimited, in part, due to its low water solubility,