News From The American Chemical Society, Dec. 3, 2008

Main Category: COPD
Also Included In: IT / Internet / E-mail;  Medical Devices / Diagnostics;  Public Health
Article Date: 09 Dec 2008 - 8:00 PDT

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Advance toward early diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Researchers in Finland are reporting identification of the first potential "biomarker" that could be used in development of a sputum test for early detection of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). That condition, which causes severe difficulty in breathing - most often in cigarette smokers - affects 12 million people in the United States.

In an article scheduled in ACS' Journal of Proteome Research, a monthly publication, Vuokko L. Kinnula and colleagues point out that no disease marker for COPD currently exists, despite extensive efforts by scientists to find one. Past research pointed to a prime candidate - surfactant protein A (SP-A), which has a major role in fighting infections and inflammation in the lung.

The scientists compared levels of a variety of proteins obtained from the lung tissues of healthy individuals, patients with COPD, and those with pulmonary fibrosis. They found that the lungs of COPD patients contained elevated levels of SP-A. The scientists also found elevated levels of SP-A in the sputum samples of COPD patients. "This suggests that SP-A might represent a helpful biomarker in the early detection of COPD and other related disorders," the article notes. - MTS

ARTICLE: "Proteomics of Human Lung Tissue Identifies Surfactant Protein A as a Marker of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease"

DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT ARTICLE http://pubs.acs.org/stoken/presspac/presspac/full/10.1021/nl801495p

CONTACT:
Vuokko L. Kinnula, Ph.D.
University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Central Hospital
Helsinki, Finland

Clothing with a brain: "Smart fabrics" that monitor health

Researchers in United States and China are reporting progress toward a simple, low-cost method to make "smart fabrics," electronic textiles capable of detecting diseases, monitoring heart rates, and other vital signs. A report on these straight-out-of-science-fiction-fibers, made of carbon nanotubes, is scheduled for the December 10 issue of ACS' Nano Letters, a monthly publication.

In the new study, Nicholas A. Kotov, Chuanlai Xu, and colleagues point out that electronic textiles, or E-textiles, already are a reality. However, the current materials are too bulky, rigid, and complex for practical use. Fabric makers need simpler, more flexible materials to make E-fibers practical for future applications, they say.

The scientists describe development of cotton fibers coated with electrolytes and carbon nanotubes (CNT) - thin filaments 1/50,000 the width of a single human hair. The fibers are soft, flexible, and capable of transmitting electricity when woven into fabrics. In laboratory tests, the researchers showed that the new E-fibers could light up a simple light-emitting diode when connected to a battery. When coated with certain antibodies, the fibers detected the presence of albumin, a key protein in blood - a function that could be used to detect bleeding in wounded soldiers. The fabrics could also help monitor diseases and vital signs, they say. - MTS

ARTICLE: "Smart Electronic Yarns and Wearable Fabrics for Human Biomonitoring made by Carbon Nanotube Coating with Polyelectrolytes"

DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT ARTICLE http://pubs.acs.org/stoken/presspac/presspac/full/10.1021/jf8016095

CONTACT:
Nicholas A. Kotov, Ph.D.
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109

New "wipes" for better decontamination of chemical warfare agents and toxic chemicals

Scientists in Texas, California, and Maryland are reporting development of high-tech "wipes" that are capable of quickly decontaminating people and equipment exposed to a broad range of military and industrial chemicals, including the deadly blister agent known as "mustard." The next generation wipes, which are a major step toward a universal personal decontamination system for nearly any toxic or hazardous chemical, could help save the lives of soldiers and civilians. Their work will be described in an article in ACS' Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, a bi-weekly journal.

Seshadri Ramkumar and colleagues note that the military long has used powders and liquids to decontaminate soldiers and equipment exposed to chemical warfare agents. But powders, such as activated carbon, can disperse into the air and damage the lungs, while water-based and reactive decontamination liquids target only a limited set of chemicals or can damage electronic equipment. Better materials are needed, the scientists say.

In the new study, the scientists describe development of a new fabric-based "wipe" composed of a layer of activated carbon sandwiched between layers of absorbent fibers. The researchers evaluated the ability of the new fabric to absorb and adsorb sulfur mustard, a toxic liquid that causes skin blistering, and compared the results to activated carbon particles and a standard military decontamination kit that uses powdered carbon mixed with other materials. The wipes were better than particulate carbon alone and as effective as the military decontamination kit, the researchers say, noting that the flexible and non-particulate wipes show promise for decontaminating a wide range of surfaces and toxic or hazardous chemicals. - MTS

ARTICLE: "Next Generation Non-particulate Dry Nonwoven Pad for Chemical Warfare Agent Decontamination"

CONTACT:
Seshadri S. Ramkumar, Ph.D.
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, Texas 79409-1163

Updated standards to reduce metal contaminants in prescription drugs

Prescription medicines in the United States could soon have lower levels of potentially harmful metals, as the organization that sets drug standards develops new limits for impurities like mercury, arsenic, and lead, according to an article in Chemical & Engineering News, ACS' weekly newsmagazine.

In the article, C&EN Associate Editor Jyllian Kemsley notes that researchers have known for years that potentially toxic metals can wind up in pharmaceutical ingredients through raw materials, catalysts, equipment, and other sources. But the testing method currently prescribed by the U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP), the nonprofit organization that sets standards for the pharmaceutical industry, has not kept pace with that new knowledge. That method involves a 100-year-old test that is time-consuming, difficult to interpret, and generally not quantitative, according to the article.

USP now is developing new standards and testing methods that will be finished in 2010 and implemented over a span of years. USP will require drug makers to use improved methods and instruments to detect metal contaminants.

ARTICLE: "Detecting metals in drugs"

This story is available at http://pubs.acs.org/cen/science/86/8649sci1.html

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The American Chemical Society - the world's largest scientific society - is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

Source: Michael Woods
American Chemical Society

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