Breakthrough method in nanoparticle synthesis paves the way for new pharmaceutical and biomedical applications ( ake up over one-third of all pharmaceut...)

Breakthrough method in nanoparticle synthesis paves the way for new pharmaceutical and biomedical applications

ake up over one-third of all pharmaceutical drugs currently sold worldwide. Chiral drugs are comprised of “left-handed?and “right-handed?molecules, both of which are mirror images of each other. Only one of these molecules provides the therapeutic effect. In the production process, catalysts are used to selectively synthesize the preferred chiral molecule that provides for therapeutic treatment without undesired side-effects. However, these catalysts normally exist in a homogeneous liquid phase, which makes them difficult to be separated and reused.

Prof. Ying’s group at IBN has developed novel approaches to immobilize these catalysts on nanoporous materials synthesized by its wet-chemical technique. This renders the catalysts in a solid form, enabling them to be easily recovered and reused through simple filtering or centrifuging processes. This allows for the more efficient synthesis of a wide variety of pharmaceuticals.

This improvement in the drug manufacturing process can potentially lead to greater cost savings, as the production of the chiral ingredient currently accounts for 10-40% of the total cost. IBN’s invention could potentially have a significant impact on the chiral pharmaceuticals industry, a fast-growing sector which generated US$143 billion sales in 2003.

Other applications of IBN’s nanoporous nanoparticles involve therapeutic treatments like targeted drug delivery and gene therapy. Nanoparticles of varying size and structure may be created to act as carriers for drugs, genes and proteins. In addition, these porous nanoparticles can be used to host quantum dots and magnetic nanoparticles for bioimaging and quantum device applications.

Source:www.ibn.a-star.edu.sg

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( ake up over one-third of all pharmaceut...)Breakthrough method in nanoparticle synthesis paves the way for new pharmaceutical and biomedical applications