The researchers will present at the Nano Israel conference the newly developed method for identifying and curing atherosclerosis using advanced nano technologies which will "paint" the damaged area with nano gold and even heal it.
Arteriosclerosis may lead to serious problems, including heart attack, stroke, and even death. Despite the many studies that have been conducted, the low chance of survival after five years of the patients has not changed in the last 40 years. The decisive factor in determining survival is the "time window" in which the sclerosis can be discovered, since the earlier the discovery, the easier it is to treat and the chance of survival increases. Also, correctly locating the exact location of the sclerosis is necessary in order to treat it.
A group of Israeli scientists led by Prof. Dror Pixler, from the Faculty of Engineering and the Institute for Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials at Bar-Ilan University, succeeded in researching and developing a cheap, available and simple test and treatment kit that is not painful and does not endanger the patient. The development will be presented for the first time as part of the "Nano-Israel 2016" conference and the associated exhibition, an international event dealing with innovations and business opportunities in the fields of nanotechnology.
The revolutionary test kit, currently under development, will include tiny gold particles - gold nanoparticles, which must be injected into the patient. It turns out that the gold particles and other substances found in the solution are attracted to the infected area and "paint" it, after a while the doctor performing the imaging using a small scanner will be able to view the computer, which will process the data and display areas suspected of being active sclerosis.
"The set of tests offered today includes ultrasound (IVUS), OCT, CT, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), but these are expensive tests, tests that have low availability and contain ionizing radiation. Our method does not ionize" says Prof. Pixler.
The new test can be used as an initial diagnostic tool, only after which it will be decided whether to proceed with an invasive operation and what treatment to give. Recently, they even started to develop a method to heal the sclerotic area with the help of those nanoparticles, by attaching the gold particles to "good" cholesterol (HDL) particles, thus stopping the sclerosis and curing it.
The new research, funded by the "Kamin" program of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, was published in the leading scientific journal in the nano field, Nano Letters. The research is accompanied by clinical trials in collaboration with senior doctors led by Prof. Eli Lev from the cardiology department at Rabin Hospital.
