Targeted Oxygen Delivery — Dr. Joel Friedman and his colleague Dr. Mahantesh Navati have developed a nanotechnology that results in enhanced oxygen delivery to targeted tissues. They coated very small (nano) paramagnetic particles (which are attracted to a magnet but aren’t magnetic themselves) with the drug L35, a bezafibrate-related compound that which stimulates red blood cells to release oxygen; the nanoparticles were injected into hamsters. The researchers then used external magnets to localize the nanoparticles to a target site. Measurements showed that the target region of hamsters injected with the particles had higher oxygen levels than the same regions of hamsters not injected with the nanoparticles. The findings, published in the June 12, 2014 issue of Nanotechnology, show that the technology could potentially enhance oxygen levels in tissues deprived of oxygen and also in tumors, possibly making them more sensitive to radiation therapy. Dr. Friedman is professor of physiology & biophysics and of medicine, and is the Young Men’s Division Chair in Physiology. Dr. Navati is an associate in physiology & biophysics. The duo conducted the research in collaboration with senior author Dr. Pedro Cabrales, from the University of California San Diego, whose team conducted the in vivo studies.
Posted on: Wednesday, July 02, 2014