Biotechnology

My alma matter looking good. :)

I haven't editorialized the title, but I don't like it since the desired protein structure was thought up by the grad student and the "digitally designed" piece just seems to be some MD modelling to confirm the desired outcome before synthesis.

That being said, I thought this was interesting since freeze/thaw (F/T) stress is ubiquitous in the life sciences and something that is especially important to the emerging field of cell therapy. Typically, excipients like sucrose, trehalose, or glycerol are used to preserve biological molecules during F/T, but they are not protective in every case. Developing alternative means to protect during F/T gives people like me that develop therapeutic formulations more options to turn to in the case of difficult molecules.

doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2220380120

This paper details a new hydrogel patch coated in microneedles used to delivery medication to tissues. The design of the patch was inspired by the Blue-ringed octopus and the method by which it administers toxins.

Unrelated to this paper (which is really cool) I feel like scientific figures have really fallen prey to a trend to cram too much information into each figure, making them impossible to comprehend. This paper as an example features two figures that go all the way from A through L. If you have to use almost half the alphabet to label your figures, maybe something can go to supplemental information.

doi: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adh2213

cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/572701

This article describes using lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) containing silencing RNA (siRNA) to slow or prevent the spread of cancerous multiple myeloma cells through the body.

What I found interesting about this approach is that these LNPs do not target the cancerous cells themselves, but rather targets healthy endothelial cells lining blood vessels in the body. The mechanism of action is to reduce the expression of a protein (CyPA) that cancer cells use to aid their spread through the body. So, these LNPs are simply used to help contain and localize the cancerous growth while traditional cancer treatments are used to treat the malignant cells.

A significant challenge for this approach going forward is tuning the targeting and biodistribution of the LNPs. Most LNP treatments end up in either the liver or spleen where they transfect cells in those organs and express protiens. I don't have direct experience with siRNA molecules, but transfecting epithelial cells in a lasting way could prove difficult as it scales up from mouse models.

doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2215711120