Nanosponges are used to detoxify

Nano sponges disguised as red blood cells can absorb a variety of toxic substances in the blood, including anthrax and snake venom.

On April 14th, Nature Nanotechnology magazine reported a new type of nanosponge. The mechanism of action of this sponge is the same as the mechanism that causes many harms to the human body such as superbug and E. coli.

This type of nanoparticle is called a nano-sponge. It can act as a bait, attracting deadly chemicals. Once they are hooked, the nanosponges lose their activity. In the mouse experiment, when mice were injected with a lethal dose of the toxic substance, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), the mice survived under the protection of nanosponges.

Next is human trials. Che-Ming Hu, a biological engineer at the University of California, San Diego, who is a researcher with the technology, said that if the experiment is effective, the small copy of the red blood cell "will be widely used to treat many different toxicants." ".

Little robot

Hu Zheming said to LiveScience, “The main method for bacteria and poisons to destroy the body is to make small holes on the cell surface, then invade the cells, disturb the chemical balance in the cells, and eventually cause the cells to rupture.”

So far, researchers have not developed universal therapies based on the susceptibility of poisons.

However, researchers created a spherical nucleus using the byproduct of lactate produced in human normal metabolism. They wrapped this nucleus with the outer membrane of red blood cells. (They use the different concentration of particles in the cell to cause the cell to rupture, and then collect the outer membrane of the cell.)

Hu Zheming said that the integration of the nuclear and erythrocyte outer membranes constitutes a small nanosponge, which has a diameter of 85 nanometers and is one-hundredth of that of human hair.

In cell culture, a sponge disguised as red blood cells is like a bait tempting MRSA, Streptococcus (which can cause strep throat), bee venom attached to its surface, and using routine tricks to puncture cells to inject toxins.

Hu Zheming said to life sciences website: "When these poisons reach the nano-sponge, they will completely destroy the structure of the 'cell', and the whole body will digest the whole particles, including poisons and nano-sponges."

Next, the team injected 18 mice with lethal doses of MRSA, and half of them injected a dose of nanosponges.

As a result, all rats in the control group died, and all but one of them survived.

Extensive treatment

Many bacteria use the "pore-making strategy" to invade cells, so when doctors really do not know what causes the patient's illness, nanosponges can be used as general therapies.

Hu Zheming said, “This type of nano sponge is tiny, which means it requires very little blood and can be effectively camouflaged. Similarly, tiny bodies can circulate freely in blood vessels, tempting large quantities of poisons, although they have some influence. Can still be safely degraded."

Next, the researchers will study whether this method is applicable to humans and other toxicants such as scorpion venom, anthrax, etc.