Raj Agrawal

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Nanotechnology And Anti-Cancer Therapeutics

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Nanotechnology is a science that has helped mankind seek solutions, which is otherwise impossible on a macro scale. Over the course of time, a myriad of new applications and formulations have been developed to tackle the problems encountered while preparing conventional medical formulations. In this article, i’ll talk about a few devices which have been built using the principles of nanotechnology.[1] Nanotechnology aims at targeting the specific delivery of therapeutic agents (medications), which have been known to reduce the toxicities in other organs. And this has been a major concern in cancer therapy. The therapeutic agents are conventionally directed towards the patient’s cells that have lost apoptotic control and that are growing limitlessly.[2] These medications are directed towards human cancerous cells, it becomes difficult to select the right target, and hence the therapeutic agents end up killing the normal body cells.

A Solution In Research

Nanotechnology directs the therapeutic agents to target a specific organ and also help save other organs from being killed. Many of the recent anti-cancer drugs failed the clinical trials due to safety concerns, but as genuine fix to the concern, they are now being formulated using nanotechnology. Wortmannin, a potent anti-cancer drug that acts as an inhibitor of Phosphoinositol 3-kinase[3] had failed the clinical trials due to problems related to toxicity, solubility and stability. It was later re-formulated as a nanoparticle where the researchers have claimed to solve all the aforementioned problems that earlier caused it’s failure.[4]

Wortmannin bound to target. Image credit: wortmannin.noneto.com
Wortmannin bound to target (Image credit: wortmannin.noneto.com)

Similarly, researchers have successfully experimented to develop nanoparticles which comprise small chains of magnetic particles (Nanochains) and liposomes loaded with doxorubicin. This was tried in rodent models for triple-negative breast cancer.[5] By doing so, researchers reported that the toxicity was reduced remarkably and as the formulation was loaded with liposomes and made target specific the dose also reduced considerably.

Nano-chain targetting
Nano-chain targeting (Image credit: spectroscopynow.com)

The action of this formulation was such that when the liposomes reached the target organ or site of cancerous growth, magnetic nanoparticles were stimulated by electric field which made them vibrate due to which the liposome membrane would disrupt and the drug directly releasing on the cancerous cells. The targeting was based on αvβ3 integrin-targeted nanochain particle composed of four iron oxide nanospheres chemically linked in a linear assembly. The αvβ3 integrin is an adhesion receptor expressed by breast cancer cells and osteoclasts. [6]

References

  1. Martis, E.A., R.R. Badve, and M.D. Degwekar, Nanotechnology based devices and applications in medicine: An overview. Chronicles of Young Scientists. 3(1): p. 68.
  2. Lowe, S.W. and A.W. Lin, Apoptosis in cancer. Carcinogenesis, 2000. 21(3): p. 485-495.
  3. Weng, L.P., J.L. Brown, and C. Eng, PTEN induces apoptosis and cell cycle arrest through phosphoinositol-3-kinase/Akt-dependent and‐independent pathways. Human molecular genetics, 2001. 10(3): p. 237-242.
  4. Karve, S., et al., Revival of the abandoned therapeutic wortmannin by nanoparticle drug delivery. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 109(21): p. 8230-8235.
  5. Peiris, P.M., et al., Imaging Metastasis Using an Integrin-Targeting Chain-Shaped Nanoparticle. ACS nano. 6 (10), pp 8783–8795
  6. Zhao, Y., et al., Tumor αvβ3 integrin is a therapeutic target for breast cancer bone metastases. Cancer research, 2007. 67(12): p. 5821-5830.

SLR vs DSLR vs SLT Cameras – A Buying Guide

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Finding the right camera nowadays can be daunting, unless you have someone well versed to guide you or unless you are experienced enough. With so many types of cameras available, it’s easy to be lost. Barry Schwartz once rightly mentioned in his presentation at TED Talks – The more options there are, the easier it is to regret anything at all that is disappointing about the option that you chose. This article is intended to be a quick guide to help you understand the purposes of each of the said camera types and what are they well suited for.

Image credit: images.kuruvila.net

What is an SLR?

SLR (Single-lens Reflex) cameras are defined by the way in which the viewfinder works. Unlike standard compact digital cameras, whose viewfinders can sometimes suffer from parallax issues when taking close-up shots, SLRs use a system of mirrors and prisms to allow the photographer to use the viewfinder to see exactly what will be captured through the lens. This allows the user to gauge the focus on close-up shots far more precisely.

SLRs also feature interchangeable lenses – and while this may not be a definite selling point for the hobbyist, it’s invaluable for professional photographers.

What is a DSLR?

Whilst SLRs still use traditional 35mm film to capture images, DSLRs combine the features of an SLR camera with a digital camera system. This type of camera typically features an LCD display and higher-quality image sensors, as well as a range of customisable settings and modes to tailor the camera to the scene. DSLRs have largely replaced SLRs as the preferred camera type for professionals, due to the level of versatility they offer, while still maintaining the defining features of a conventional SLR.

What is an SLT?

A new competitor on the photography scene is the SLT (Single-Lens Translucent) camera, produced by Sony. These cameras have similar lenses to DSLRs, but they also feature an electronic viewfinder (EVF), which allows for a more accurate preview of images taken with a high-zoom lens, and the ability to display information, such as camera settings or a histogram, on top of the image. These viewfinders can, however, sometimes suffer from a higher level of lag, and it can be difficult to manually focus images with lower-resolution EVFs.

On the other hand, SLTs are also generally less bulky, lacking the complex moving mirror system that SLRs use, which also allows for more frames to be captured per second – ideal for the rapid-fire bursts of shots typically needed for sports and action photography.

Which of these camera should you buy?

Overall, SLRs, DSLRs and SLTs are all likely to appeal to professional photographers and hobbyists, offering a high level of versatility. When it comes to choosing the right camera for your needs, it’s important to know exactly how you will be using it. For high-action sports or nature photography, you’ll get the best results using an SLT, whilst low light and night-time photos will look best when taken on a traditional SLR or DSLR.

While purchasing any of these cameras – an SLR, DSLR or an SLT,  always consider the following.

  • Sensor size – Cameras with larger sensors take better shots.
  • Megapixels – Ensure that the camera has at least 8MP, as – whilst this won’t necessarily improve the quality of your images – it will enable you to print out larger photos without distortions.
  • Features – Your camera need not necessarily have plenty of features. You might end up paying more money for the extra features you might never use. As a beginner or an amateur, think about the convenient features you would like your camera to have. Features like image stabilisation can be particularly useful if you want to avoid taking blurry photos, particularly in low-light indoor environments.

3D-Printing Our World – 3 Amazing Projects For Humanity

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UPCOMING TECHNOLOGY – 3D-printers have become increasingly popular in recent times, especially with recent provisions to enable printing of 3D objects at home. 3D -printing is a revolutionary technology and a type of manufacturing technique that involves building successive layers of 3D objects using certain materials. The beauty of 3D-printing technology is that it easily seeps into any manufacturing domain that is involved in construction of objects, regardless of their physical structure and complexity.

At home, you can now print and use actual and fully functioning items like utensils, crockery, mechanical spare parts and even toys with utmost precision of design. At the industrial end, 3D-printers have been used to build fully functioning parts for air-planes, cars and even complex furniture! This is just a tiny gist of how powerful and useful 3D-printing technology is to mankind. I’ll now talk about a few projects aimed to solve some of the most complicated problems in the history of mankind; all with the help of 3D-printers!

Automating the production of habitable houses

Among the many disparities, our civilisation continues to face a state of uneven distribution of rights, like shelter for instance. The lack of adequate shelter is largely witnessed in 3rd world countries and there’s inadequacy with the conventional methods of building residential houses, which commonly arises a number of risky and unlawful problems.

Due to incessant rise in population, especially in urban areas of the world, the number of slum dwellers is rising. One billion people worldwide live in slums and the figure is projected to grow to 2 billion by 2030 – An excerpt from Wikipedia; statistics forecasted by United Nations.

But, there’s good news. A project is under cooks that is focused at eradicating all the negative outcomes of constructing houses – the project is called CRAFT – Centre for Rapid Automated Fabrication Technologies. It is aimed at scaling the 3D-printing method to a level of automatically building a much stronger, completely habitable house within 20 hours and at the cheapest costs of production. And guess what, apart from it being an automated process, it’s also environmental friendly and capable of building exotic structures at no additional costs of production!

 Printing precise exoskeletons to overcome certain physical disabilities

For years, the concept of a wearable exoskeleton for humans has been associated with cyborg-like suits that amplify human strength, typically intended for military purposes. They’ll take time to be perfected. But now, wearable exoskeletons are gradually working with smarter prosthetics for certain disabilities in people. The exoskeletons have been usually intended for adults and conforming to their physical size. One exceptional case of a 2 year old disabled child invited the need for an alternative way to build an exoskeleton for children.

This is very indicative that we’ll see more developments in coming years in the field of smart prosthetic. The video briefly explains how a child suffering from a permanent disability called arthrogryposis, was only able to use an exoskeleton because of 3D-printing technology.

3D-printed blood vessels are now a reality

Yes, you read it right. It is now possible to generate/ build functioning blood vessels. A news report talks about a new process called Dynamic Optical Projection Stereo-lithography, or DOPsL, that promises printing of blood vessels in mere seconds. Read more about 3D-printed blood vessels using DOPsL at Neatorama. This being done, we could soon print all parts of a human body. However and whenever it happens, growing human limbs and organs would be outstanding. While 3D-printed human kidneys and potentially other organs are under development, they could take some time to materialise as an available solution.

The video explains and demonstrates the 3D-printing process of blood vessels with sugar – A technique that was much in news before DOPsL.