Nov 15 2010
NaturalNano, Inc. (Pink Sheets:NNAN) (Frankfurt:N3N) announced that Andrew Hughes is presenting today research from Cornell University's Department of Biomedical Engineering that reports significant improvement in the ability of medical devices in development to target the separation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from blood are significantly improved by the use of NaturalNano's Halloysite Nanotubes (HNT) as part of the surface. The devices are designed to remove CTCs from the blood of cancer patients as part of a more personalized approach to cancer treatment.
The study is being reported today at the Annual Meeting of The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, UT. AIChE is the world's leading organization for chemical engineering professionals, with over 40,000 members from over 90 countries.
The novel blood separation device work is being conducted in the laboratory of Dr. Michael R. King, a faculty member at the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. The study demonstrates that incorporation of the NaturalNano's HNT into the devices surface can improve targeting of CTC's. and enhance the natural rolling mechanism that Dr. King believes will allow them to be exposed to specific anti-cancer drugs or other therapeutic agents, or isolated for diagnostic and research purposes. This cell separation device now in development by Dr. King has significant potential for a range of novel approaches to the treatment of cancer and other blood born diseases.
Dr. Michael King, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University, said, "The ability to create stable coatings of Halloysite using an extremely thin layer of poly-L-lysine gives us a breakthrough, which will impact the diagnostic detection of circulating tumor cells in blood, and isolation for further use. An interesting result from their paper is that the Halloysite had no harmful effect on the cells enabling the delivery of live cells ready for treatment or analysis."
James Wemett, NaturalNano CEO, said "I am very excited to have this opportunity to have our Company's proprietary nanotubes incorporated into this promising device technology and featured in the presentation at AIChE's Annual Meeting."
Source: http://www.naturalnano.com/