The Einstein nanoparticle technology was developed by Joel M. Friedman, M.D., Ph.D., the Young Men's Division Chair of Physiology and professor of physiology & biophysics and of medicine, and Adam Friedman, M.D., currently the chief resident in the division of dermatology of the department of medicine at Montefiore Medical Center, The University Hospital and Academic Medical Center for Einstein.

When introduced on the skin or into the body, the tiny nanoparticles absorb water, swell up, and start releasing their cargo in a sustained manner. The nanoparticles can carry and release a variety of drugs as well as chemicals, including NO.

Produced naturally by cells throughout the body, NO has important biological properties including killing bacteria, healing wounds, and increasing blood flow by dilating blood vessels. "But NO is a very short-lived gas," notes Dr. Joel Friedman, "and, until now, methods to deliver it to targeted tissues in the proper doses have proven elusive."

Einstein researchers are also pursuing other potential therapeutic uses for their nanoparticles. For example, along with Kelvin Davies, Ph.D., associate professor of urology, the Friedmans recently showed that nanoparticles loaded with either NO or tadalafil (Cialis) show promise as a topical cream-like treatment for erectile dysfunction.

Earlier this month, Makefield Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company based in Newtown, PA, licensed patent rights to Einstein's NO-containing nanoparticle technology. The company plans to use topical formulations of the NO-containing nanoparticles to treat antibiotic-resistant infections and erectile dysfunction.

The paper, "Nitric Oxide Releasing Nanoparticles Are Therapeutic for Staphylococcus aureus Abscesses in a Murine Model of Infection," was published in the November 12, 2009 issue of PLoS ONE.

Source: Albert Einstein College of Medicine