Washington, April 24 : An experiment on mice has shown that nanotechnology may tender a lot of help in treating several intractable ailments, including spinal cord injuries, diabetes, and Parkinson’s disease.

Dr. Samuel I. Stupp, Director of the Institute of BioNanotechnology in Medicine at Northwestern University, injected paralysed lab mice with spinal cord injuries with a simple injection of a purpose-designed nanomaterial.

Six weeks after the injection, the mice had regained the ability to walk using their hind limbs.

“By injecting molecules that were designed to self-assemble into nanostructures in the spinal tissue, we have been able to rescue and regrow rapidly damaged neurons,” Dr. Stupp said at a session hosted by the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies.

“The nanofibers – thousands of times thinner than a human hair – are the key to not only preventing the formation of harmful scar tissue which inhibits spinal cord healing, but to stimulating the body into regenerating lost or damaged cells,” he added.

The researchers designed molecules with the capacity to self-assemble into nanofibers once injected into the body with a syringe. When the nanofibers form, they can be immobilised in an area of tissue where it is necessary to activate some biological process, such as saving damaged cells or regenerating needed differentiated cells from stem cells.

Dr. Stupp says that the same experiment also has implications for both Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, in which key brains cells stop working properly.

The researcher also showed an impressive visual of mice recovering from the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease after being exposed to the bioactive nanostructures, besides demonstrating an impressive achievement of recovering heart function using nanotechnology.

“This research provides an early glimpse into the new and exciting places where nanotechnology can take us,” said Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies Director David Rejeski at the session.

“This type of work helps us to see beyond first generation, ‘gee-whiz’ nanotech applications like better tennis racquets or anti-static fabrics, and reach for an end to human suffering from Parkinson’s, heart disease, and even cancer,” he added. (ANI)

Tags:Nanotechnology