News from the NNI Community - Research Advances Funded by Agencies Participating in the NNI

Engineers at the University of Pennsylvania have developed a novel method for manufacturing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, specialized receptors that help T cells eliminate cancer cells. The researchers used lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) to activate T cells and deliver the genetic instructions for CARs in a single step, simplifying the CAR T cell manufacturing process. LNPs are being used as delivery vehicles in vaccine and other biomedical developments.

A collaboration of Duke University engineers and immunologists have developed a method to test DNA bound to nanoparticles in the bloodstream. These complexes have been linked to autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus). The study found that DNA adsorbed on the surface of polystyrene nanoparticles was resistant to degradation. These findings advance understanding of the inflammatory response to DNA on particle surfaces in immune-mediated diseases.

Researchers from Rice University and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed an additive-free, water-based ink made of lignin and cellulose, the fundamental building blocks of wood. The ink can be used to produce architecturally intricate wood structures via a 3D printing technique known as direct ink writing. The researchers focused on optimizing the composition of the ink by adjusting the ratio of lignin, cellulose nanofibers, and nanocrystals while maintaining the natural lignin-cellulose balance.

Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed a new fabrication process for helical metal nanoparticles that provides a simpler, cheaper way to rapidly produce a material essential for biomedical and optical devices. "One of our motivators is to drastically simplify manufacturing of complex materials that represent bottlenecks in many current technologies," said Nicholas Kotov, one of the scientists involved in this study. 

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and colleagues from the Joint Quantum Institute, a research partnership between NIST and the University of Maryland, have developed standards and calibrations for optical microscopes that allow quantum dots to be aligned with the center of a photonic component to within an error of 10 to 20 nanometers. Such alignment is critical for chip-scale devices that employ the radiation emitted by quantum dots to store and transmit quantum information.

Materials scientists at Rice University are shedding light on the intricate growth processes of 2D crystals, paving the way for controlled synthesis of these materials with unprecedented precision. The researchers have developed a custom-built miniaturized chemical vapor deposition system to observe and record the growth of 2D molybdenum disulfide crystals in real time. Through the use of advanced image processing and machine learning algorithms, the researchers were able to extract valuable insights from the real-time footage, including the ability to predict the conditions needed to grow very large, single-layer molybdenum disulfide crystals.

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have found that targeting a non-encoding stretch of RNA may help shrink tumors caused by an aggressive type of brain cancer in children. A previous study showed that a long noncoding stretch of RNA contributes to the growth of brain tumors by attaching to a piece of DNA that increases expression of cancer-causing genes. In this study, the researchers developed an intravenous treatment that uses cerium oxide nanoparticles and that ultimately blocks the noncoding stretch of RNA from binding to the piece of DNA to stop the resulting cascade of cancer-gene expression. 

By wrapping a carbon nanotube with a ribbon-like polymer, researchers from Duke University, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, were able to create nanotubes that conduct electricity when struck with low-energy light. The approach takes a metallic nanotube, which always lets current through, and transforms it into a semiconducting form that can be switched on and off. The secret lies in special polymers that wind around the nanotube in an orderly spiral, "like wrapping a ribbon around a pencil," said the study’s first author Francesco Mastrocinque.

Researchers from Pennsylvania State University have developed a "GPS nanoparticle" that, after being injected intravenously, can home in on cancer cells to deliver a genetic punch to the protein implicated in tumor growth and spread. The researchers showed that this nanoparticle works for basal-like breast cancers, which are characterized by aggressive, quickly growing tumors that shed cancer cells, which then spread elsewhere in the body.

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh are providing guidance on the design of lipid nanoparticles for safe use during pregnancy. Lipid nanoparticles are the delivery vehicles that bring messenger RNA into cells. The researchers are studying how changes during pregnancy (for example, immune system changes) alter nanoparticle behavior, compared to non-pregnant people. So far, the researchers have shown that the inclusion of different lipids in a nanoparticle alters its chemistry, which in turn changes the way the immune system responds.