Nanometrics for a living cell
Valentina Gatash, "Mirror of the Week", March 15-21, 2008
Nobel laureate, Director of the Institute of Physics and Technology, Vice-President of the Russian Academy of Sciences Zhores Alferov created the Foundation for the Support of Education and Science, the so-called Alferov Foundation, with premium funds in 2001. Among its main tasks is to support scientific projects of young scientists from both Russia and CIS countries.
At the end of last year, one of the foundation's prizes was awarded to Andrey Masalov, a researcher at the Laboratory of Biological Testing of Nanomaterials of the NTC "Institute of Single Crystals", Candidate of Physical and Technical Sciences, for his work "Synthesis and properties of dielectric activated nanocrystals".
According to the Nobel laureate, who came to Kiev to present the prizes, it is nanobiotechnology that will have the greatest impact on the civilization of the XXI century.
In medical and biological research, both applied and fundamental, there is a need to visualize any events inside the cell at the molecular level. For example, in the field of pharmacokinetics of drugs, it is important to track the pathways of drug distribution in the body after its administration. How and when do they reach the tissues in which they should show their therapeutic effect, which internal organs are affected by their action, how do they penetrate into cells, how and how quickly are they excreted from the body? It would be good for such cases to "plant" some small labels on the pharmaceutical molecules that would constantly signal their location and what is happening to them and at the same time would be completely harmless to the biological object.
Researchers are no longer satisfied with the existing visualization methods, since the labels used here are limited in their functional properties and are mostly toxic. Scientists of the NTC "Institute of Single Crystals" proposed for this purpose to use single crystals based on various rare earth elements, such as orthophosphates and polyphosphates, which have the ability to luminesce in response to external irradiation.
The problem was to obtain phosphors of a very small size, comparable to the thickness of the cell membrane of a living organism. And Kharkiv residents succeeded – they managed to obtain single crystals of only two nanometers in size, each of which contains only 100 molecules. (For comparison: American scientists have not yet managed to create a phosphor less than four nanometers.) If the cell of a living organism is represented in the form of a stadium, then the nanoluminophore will not be larger than a football in size. This is a kind of microscopic light bulb that can be attached to a biological object – be it a protein molecule or a drug – and "turn on" at the right moment to see what is happening to it. In the future, Kharkiv scientists plan to investigate the interaction of the obtained particles with various biological objects.
According to experts, the new research method – single–molecular spectroscopy - promises unprecedented prospects for studying processes at the level of individual molecules, including in a living cell. However, there is little enthusiasm and talent of individual scientists and research teams for the development of nanotechnology in the country. Modern equipment and training of relevant specialists are needed. Including for work in small companies, so-called startups that are beginning to turn scientific knowledge into a specific technology or product. In 2008, many countries significantly increased funding for research in the field of nanotechnology compared to last year. In Ukraine – three times, in Kazakhstan – 25 at once. Russia now ranks third in the world in terms of funds invested in this area. The USA is ahead.
Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru18.03.2008