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 Eindhoven, The
Netherlands - Philips Research and the
University of Urbino (Urbino, Italy) have signed a
research agreement to study the encapsulation of
magnetic nanoparticle contrast agents inside living
blood cells to prolong the retention time of these
agents in the blood. Injected as free particles,
magnetic nanoparticle contrast agents are quickly
excreted from the blood via the patient’s liver,
which limits their application. During the
collaboration, the University of Urbino will
investigate the integration of magnetic
nanoparticles into red blood cells and their
biological interactions in the human body, while
Philips Research will evaluate the properties of
these contrast agents in its medical scanners.
The collaboration between Philips Research and the
University of Urbino will last for approximately two
and a half years, with expected initial applications
in the treatment of cardiovascular disease – one of
the biggest killers in the western world.
"Nanoparticle blood pool contrast agents have
already shown considerable promise in diagnostic
imaging, but the short retention time of these
particles in the body has always been a real
challenge," says Henk van Houten, senior vice
president of Philips Research and head of the
Healthcare Research program. "Together with the
unique expertise of the researchers at the
University of Urbino we hope to increase the
retention time of these particles from minutes to
hours or even days, as this would open up
applications such as the image-based monitoring of
complex cardiovascular interventions that can take
several hours to complete."
This healthcare research alliance follows the
recently announced partnerships with West China
Hospital in China, the University Medical Centers of
Maastricht (the Netherlands) and Aachen (Germany),
and the University Medical Center Utrecht in the
Netherlands, and is part of Philips' increased
commitment to developing solutions for improved
patient care. A key success factor for this ambition
is the effective translation from new concepts into
clinical practice, which requires partnerships with
leading academic and medical institutions. Bringing
together such partnerships is one of the underlying
principles behind Philips’ policy of open
innovation.
“Our close collaboration with Philips should speed
the translation of our invention into clinical
practice,” comments Professor Mauro Magnani,
Vice-Rector of the University of Urbino and a
project leader of the EU FP6 funded NACBO (Novel and
Improved Nanomaterials, Chemistries and Apparatus
for Nano-Biotechnology) project. “With our
technology, the use of new biomimetic constructs
that merge the properties of nanomaterials with
those of living cells is finally possible, bringing
the real advantages of nanomaterials for therapeutic
and diagnostic applications to patients.”
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