Kalmar researchers take steps towards safer surgery

Högskolan i Kalmar, från 2010 en del av Linnéuniversitetet 12 January, 2009 Medicine, Science, Technology

The materials (plastics capable of selectively recognising a substance, in this case the anaesthetic propofol) are prepared using the ”Molecular Imprinting” technique. The nano-structured plastics are the key ”intellectual property” underlying development of a biosensor now in clinical trials. The plastics are being further exploited by a Cambridge (UK) company developing other sensor platforms. The first full description of how these materials function was disclosed in a paper published this week in the highly respected Journal of Molecular Recognition.

Miruna Petcu, a Kalmar ”industrial” PhD student employed by HortReseach Ltd, successfully defended her PhD thesis in Kalmar in September. Project leader Professor Ian A. Nicholls states, ”We anticipate that the impact of these results shall be felt in the operating theatre, though patients should not feel a thing! This is a good example of how our work with advanced materials and diagnostics is being directed towards improving tomorrow’s healthcare. This also provides a good example of Kalmar’s international leadership in this field at the crossroads of biotechnology and materials engineering”.

For further information:
Professor Ian A. Nicolls
Chair of bioorganic chemistry
Ph: +46 480 44 62 58
ian.nicholls@hik.se

More press releases from Högskolan i Kalmar, från 2010 en del av Linnéuniversitetet

New method yields better dosage of blood-thinning drugs

3 December, 2009 - Högskolan i Kalmar, från 2010 en del av Linnéuniversitetet

Many biological processes are determined by how various molecules in substances recognize and bind to each other. One such example is our immune defense, which is governed by molecules, called antibodies, that recognize and bind to foreign molecules, called antigens. In this way antibodies neutralize the alien molecules. The antibody recognizes the antigen because the antibody has a socket that perfectly matches the structure of the antigen.

New knowledge about bone marrow transplants can help leukemia patients

30 September, 2009 - Högskolan i Kalmar, från 2010 en del av Linnéuniversitetet

Acute lymphatic leukemia is the most common form of blood cancer in children. Even though chemotherapy is improving, the cancer often returns. Johan Jansson’s research at Kalmar University in Sweden shows that cancer cells that have been exposed to chemotherapy and survived are less vulnerable to chemotherapy, and more aggressive as well. But this research also yielded discoveries that should be able to enhance our treatment of the disease.

Blocking signal molecule can prevent growth of large intestine and colon cancer

23 September, 2009 - Högskolan i Kalmar, från 2010 en del av Linnéuniversitetet

By seeing what substances and molecules affect the development of our diseases, we can develop drugs that prevent or cure diseases. In her dissertation at Kalmar University in Sweden, Ann Novotny has found that the signal molecule acetylcholine (ACh) is important for the progress of cancer of the large intestine and colon, knowledge that is important to factor in when developing drugs that block the effects of Ach on tumor cells.

Ocean bacteria absorb carbon dioxide

10 June, 2008 - Högskolan i Kalmar, från 2010 en del av Linnéuniversitetet

Marine bacteria have the capacity to take up and capture carbon dioxide with the help of sunlight. This has been discovered by researchers at Kalmar University in Sweden in collaboration with colleagues in Spain, Australia, and Russia. The finding is being published in the internationally respected scientific journal PNAS.

All press releases