Dangerous dwarves?

The demand for artificially produced nanoparticles is constantly on the increase. They are of particular interest for medical applications. But useful though they may be, care must be taken to examine the mechanisms by which these tiny particles act in the body and whether or not they cause latent side effects.
A team of scientists from TU Munich and Helmholtz Zentrum Munich investigated the matter using a so-called Langendorff heart. For the first time, the researchers detected a direct impact of selected artificial nanoparticles on heart rate and heart rhythm.

The Langendorff heart used for this purpose is the isolated heart of a small animal flushed through with nutrient solution instead of blood. This was the first time that common artificial nanoparticles were analyzed using this type of detector system. It was possible to show that some of the particles result in changed ECG levels which also occur as a symptom of some heart disorders.

The new measuring system is especially suitable for medical research in which artificial nanoparticles are increasingly used as transport vehicles. The first prototypes of such nanocontainers – particles carrying active agents to target areas such as tumors – consist of carbons or silicates.

„We now have a model of a higher organ which allows the impact of artificial nanoparticles to be tested,“ explains Prof. Nießner of TU.

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