Nanomaterials

The central goal of nanotechnology is the manipulation of materials on an atomic or molecular scale, especially to build microscopic structures. The DNA has four nucleotides, which can be self-assembled into a precisely secondary structure based on the principle of the Watson-Crick base pair. DNA nanotechnology uses DNA molecules as programmable "Legos" to assemble structures with a control. However, the structure of DNA is very simple and lacks the diversity of proteins. At the same time, since proteins are important composites for the production of functional supramolecules, it is very important to strategically combine DNA and protein to use them as a functional building block. By programming DNA-Protein building blocks, we could manipulate assemblies to construct various nanostructures.

Nanoparticle drug delivery systems are engineered technologies that use nanoparticles for the targeted delivery and controlled release of therapeutic agents. The modern form of a drug delivery system should minimize side-effects and reduce both dosage and dosage frequency. Nanoparticle drug delivery focuses on maximizing drug efficacy and minimizing cytotoxicity. The surface-area-to-volume ratio of nanoparticles can be altered to allow for more ligand binding to the surface. Increasing ligand binding efficiency can decrease dosage and minimize nanoparticle toxicity. Minimizing dosage or dosage frequency also lowers the mass of nanoparticle per mass of drug, thus achieving greater efficiency. Surface functionalization of nanoparticles is another important design aspect and is often accomplished by bioconjugation or passive adsorption of molecules onto the nanoparticle surface. By functionalizing nanoparticle surfaces with ligands that enhance drug binding, suppress immune response, or provide targeting / controlled release capabilities, both a greater efficacy and lower toxicity are achieved.

CAR T cells are T cells that have been genetically engineered to produce an artificial T-cell receptor for use in immunotherapy.

Chimeric antigen receptors are receptor proteins that have been engineered to give T cells the new ability to target a specific protein. The receptors are chimeric because they combine both antigen-binding and T-cell activating functions into a single receptor.

CAR-T cell therapy uses T cells engineered with CARs for cancer therapy. The premise of CAR-T immunotherapy is to modify T cells to recognize cancer cells in order to more effectively target and destroy them. Scientists harvest T cells from people, genetically alter them, then infuse the resulting CAR-T cells into patients to attack their tumors. CAR-T cells can be either derived from T cells in a patient's own blood (autologous) or derived from the T cells of another healthy donor (allogeneic).