�Typically, a producer must use a variety of synthetic or man-made
chemicals to produce gold nanoparticles,� said Katti, professor of
radiology and physics in MU�s School of Medicine, senior research
scientist at MURR, and College of Arts and Science, and director of
the University of Missouri Cancer Nanotechnology Platform. �In
addition, to make the chemicals necessary for production, you need to
have other artificial chemicals produced, creating an even larger,
negative environmental impact. Our new process only takes what nature
has made available to us and uses that to produce a technology that
has already proven to have far-reaching impacts in technology and
medicine.�
Gold nanoparticles are tiny pieces of gold, so small that they cannot
be seen by the naked eye. Researchers believe that gold nanoparticles
will be used in cancer detection and treatment and in the production
of �smart� electronic devices in the computer and telecommunications
industry. While the nanotechnology industry is expected to produce
large quantities of nanoparticles in the near future, researchers have
been worried about the environmental impact of the global
nanotechnological revolution.
Since a variety of synthetic chemicals are needed to complete the
formation of the gold nanoparticles, the MU research team turned to
Mother Nature for assistance. They found that by submersing gold salts
in water and then adding soybeans, gold nanoparticles were generated.
The water pulls a phytochemical(s) out of the soybean that is
effective in reducing the gold to nanoparticles. A second
phytochemical(s) from the soybean, also pulled out by the water, then
interacts with the nanoparticles to stabilize them and keep them from
fusing with the particles nearby. This process creates nanoparticles
that are uniform in size in a 100 percent green process.
�This fits with what we need to do for the future,� said Kannon,
assistant professor of radiology. �We are solving a pollution problem
at the very beginning stages of a developing technology. We don�t
anticipate any waste or byproducts from this new process that would
not be biodegradable. Every one of these compounds involved in the
process already exists in nature.�
The new discovery has created a very large positive response in the
scientific community. Researchers from as far away as Germany have
been commenting on the discovery�s importance and the impact it will
have in the future.
�Soy is grown worldwide and Dr. Katti�s Nobel Prize winning discovery
will ensure that gold nanoparticles-based Nanomedicine products would
be made available even to the less developed regions of the world,�
said B. R. Barwale, 1998 winner of the world food prize and founder of
Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company in India.
�Dr. Katti�s discovery sets up the beginning of a new knowledge
frontier that interfaces plant science, chemistry and nanotechnology,�
said Herbert W. Roesky, a professor and world renowned chemist from
the University of Goettingen in Germany.
Katti, Kannan, Henry White, MU professor of physics, and Kavita Katti,
a senior research chemist, have filed a patent for the new process and
developed a new company, Greennano Company, which focuses on
development, commercialization and world wide supply of green
nanoparticles for medical and technological applications.
The research team includes Kattesh and Kavita Katti, Kannan,
post-doctoral scientists Satish Nune and Nripin Chanda, and Mizzou
graduate student Swapna Mekapothula. The research was funded by grants
from the National Cancer Institute. Katti recently presented the work
at the annual National Cancer Institute Alliance for Nanotechnology in
Cancer Investigator�s meeting in October. He also will be presenting
the research at the Fourth International Congress of Nanotechnology
and the Clean Tech World Congress held in San Francisco in early
November.
�Dr. Katti�s novel methodology to develop gold nanoparticles with soy
will have important implications as the field of nanotechnology
blossoms and has greater needs for �green� synthesis of gold based
nanoparticles. It is a very important first step,� said Sam Gambhir,
director of the Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence at
Stanford University.
The discovery also could open doors for additional medical fields, as
some of the chemicals used to make nanoparticles are toxic to humans.
Having a 100 percent natural process could allow medical researchers
to expand the use of the nanoparticles.
�Dr. Katti's discovery of green and non-toxic gold nanoparticles is a
significant step to help alleviate the pain and suffering of patients
with Pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE),� said Frances Bernham, president
of the National Association of Pseudoxanthoma elasticum. PXE causes
changes in the retina of the eye that results in significant loss of
central vision.
�The application of soy for the production of gold nanoparticles is
amazing,� said Puspendu Das, physical chemistry professor at the
Indian Institute of Science Bangalore. �It shows for the first time
that chemicals within soy are capable of producing gold nanoparticles.
This clearly marks the beginning of a new field of 'Phytochemical-Nanoscience'
and opens up a new pathway for discoveries in nanotechnology. This
invention will have far-reaching implications in nanoscience and
technology research globally since nanoparticles of gold are used in
almost every sensor design and are implicated in life sciences for
diagnostic and therapeutic applications.�
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