New material to repair bone defects developed

Using near-infrared (NIR) light irradiation, researchers have developed a bio-material that can accelerate bone healing.

While thermal therapy has been traditionally used to treat bone regeneration, it has been proved inefficient in delivering the appropriate amount of heat to the correct part of the patient's body and may cause side effects such as surface burns.

On the other hand, NIR light is electromagnetic radiation with longer wavelengths than those of visible light. Due to higher transmittance through biological tissues, it has been used as a photo-thermal therapy to release heat.

Researchers developed an implantable bio-composite made of black phosphorus nanomaterial and a widely-used tissue-engineering chemical compound to repair bone defects and promote the growth of new bone, researcher reported on Saturday.

Phosphorus is one of the vital elements constituting about 1 per cent of the total human body weight. With the black phosphorus nano-material, the composite has shown a highly-efficient photo-thermal response.

Even when the composite is covered by a tissue barrier as thick as 7 mm, it can still increase the temperature under the NIR light irradiation.

In the experiments conducted on rats, researchers found that the most effective target temperature by the NIR light-trigger is between 39.5 and 40.5 degrees Celsius, only about 3 to 5 degrees higher than the normal human body temperature.

According to lead author, the composite has large clinical potential. It is biodegradable and can produce non-toxic end products such as water and carbon dioxide which can also serve as necessary bone ingredients.

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Novel pill could replace injections to deliver insulin

Researchers have developed a drug capsule that could be used to deliver oral doses of insulin, potentially replacing injections for patients with Type-2 diabetes, says a new study.
About the size of a blueberry, the capsule contains a single and small needle made of compressed insulin, which is injected after the capsule reaches the stomach. 
The study showed that the capsule could deliver enough insulin to lower blood sugar to levels comparable to those produced by injections given through skin. They also demonstrated that the device can be adapted to deliver other protein drugs.
"We are really hopeful that this new type of capsule could someday help diabetic patients and perhaps anyone who requires therapies that can now only be given by injection or infusion," said a researcher.
The tip of the needle is made of nearly 100 per cent compressed, freeze-dried insulin. 
When the capsule is swallowed, water in the stomach dissolves the sugar disk, releasing the spring and injecting the needle into the stomach wall.
The stomach wall has no pain receptors, so the patients would not be able to feel the prick of the injection. To ensure that the drug is injected into the stomach wall, the researchers designed their system so that no matter how the capsule lands in the stomach, it can orient itself so the needle is in contact with the lining of the stomach.
The findings, published in the journal, showed that the researchers could successfully deliver up to 300 micrograms of insulin. 
More recently, they have been able to increase the dose to 5 milligrams, which is comparable to the amount that a patient with Type-2 diabetes would need to inject.
Furthermore, no adverse effects from the capsule was found, which is made from biodegradable polymer and stainless steel components.
Importantly, this type of drug delivery could be useful for any protein drug that normally has to be injected, such as immuno-suppressants used to treat rheumatoid arthritis or inflammatory bowel disease and may also work for nucleic acids such as DNA and RNA, according to the researchers.

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New spray gel could help fight cancer after surgery

Scientists have developed a spray gel embedded with immune-boosting drugs which they say could help the body fight off cancer after surgery.

Many people who are diagnosed with cancer will undergo some type of surgery to treat their disease, said researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the US.

Almost 95 per cent of people with early-diagnosed breast cancer will require surgery and it is often the first line of treatment for people with brain tumours, according to the study.

However, despite improvements in surgical techniques over the past decade, the cancer often comes back after the procedure.
The researchers tested the biodegradable spray gel in mice that had advanced melanoma tumours surgically removed.

They found that the gel reduced the growth of the tumour cells that remained after surgery, which helped prevent recurrences of the cancer.

After receiving the treatment, 50 per cent of the mice survived for at least 60 days without their tumours regrowing.

The spray not only inhibited the recurrence of tumours from the area on the body where it was removed, but also controlled the development of tumours in other parts of the body, said  a Prof.

The substance will have to go through further testing and approvals before it could be used in humans, the Prof. said.

However, the scientists envision the gel being applied to the tumour resection site by surgeons immediately after the tumour is removed during surgery.

“This sprayable gel shows promise against one of the greatest obstacles in curing cancer,” the Prof. said.

“One of the trademarks of cancers is that it spreads. In fact, around 90 per cent of people with cancerous tumours end up dying because of tumour recurrence or metastasis,” he said.

The researchers loaded nanoparticles with an antibody specifically targeted to block CD47, a protein that cancer cells release as a “don’t-eat-me” signal.

By blocking CD47, the antibody enables the immune system to find and ultimately destroy the cancer cells.

The nanoparticles are made of calcium carbonate, a substance that is the main component of egg shells and is often found in rocks.

“We also learned that the gel could activate T cells in the immune system to get them to work together as another line of attack against lingering cancer cells,” said  a postdoctoral researcher .

Once the solution is sprayed on the surgical site, it quickly forms a gel embedded with the nanoparticles.

The gel helps stop at the surgical site and promotes would healing; the nanoparticles gradually dissolve and release the anti-CD47 antibodies into the body.

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