NaturalNano, a manufacturer of Nanocomposites, has proclaimed that Dr. Michael King’s lab at Cornell University will deliver a presentation titled, ‘Halloysite Nanotube Coating Applications for Enhanced Capture and Reprogramming of Circulating Tumor Cells,’ at The Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting on October 13 2011.
The presentation will describe the utility of NaturalNano's Halloysite Natural Tubes (HNT) as a coating over the surface of the equipment utilized to capture circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in the blood. The stable coatings of Halloysite nanotubes allow the equipment to effectively target CTCs to be captured.
Dr. King’s lab is devising novel methods for the separation of intact, viable cancer cells from the bloodstream of patients using the physiological adhesion of selectin proteins present in micro-scale flow devices.
Dr. King, who serves at Cornell University as an Associate Professor of biomedical engineering, stated that the capability to form Halloysite nanotubes’ stable coatings utilizing an ultrathin layer of poly-L-lysine enables the formation of nanostructured surfaces, on which living cells can react. The microtubes with Halloysite nanotubes coated over their surface were able to improve the natural rolling mechanism of CTCs, he said. This makes the cells to get exposed to certain therapeutic agents or separated and gathered for research and diagnostic purposes, he added.
The Chief Executive Officer at NaturalNano, James Wemett stated that the company is happy about the utilization of its HNT technology in Dr. King’s significant research. The application of HNT in a medical field is a new field of application for the company and it expects that Dr. King’s research continues to progress, he said. HNT’s ability in capturing live cells without damaging them for analysis or treatment is particularly satisfactory to the company, he added.