Chasing tiny vehicles Microscope shows how nanoferries invade
cells Nanoparticles are so small that many barriers in the body
simply can't stop them. They can also use the bloodstream to
reach any part of the body. Researchers and doctors alike hope
that these tiny vehicles will one day be put to work in
therapies carrying drugs directly to the seat of a disease.
“Even genes can be transported this way,” says Plank. “That
means we could be seeing new breakthroughs in gene therapy soon,
which has seen more than its fair share of setbacks. After all,
lacking most are functional transporters.” Such vehicles or
vectors have been developed mainly from viruses until now. But
even deactivated viruses can sometimes trigger unwanted side-
effects. Nanoferries, on the other hand, have been tailored to
deliver genes or drugs directly to the target without side-
effects. For such a targeted delivery, however, nanoferries need
a kind of search mechanism to guide them to where their cargo is
needed. Magnetic particles have a