Fast Nanoparticle Diffusion in Synovial Fluid May Hold Key to Joint Disease Recovery
The application of nanoparticles as diagnostic and therapeutic agents has been of great interest over the last few decades. Understanding the diffusion of nanoparticles in biological environments is critical in their design and eventual clinical application. However, there is an incomplete understanding of nanoparticle diffusion in synovial fluid, the fluid inside the joint, which consists of a mixture of the polyelectrolyte hyaluronic acid, proteins, and other components.
University of Florida professors Carlos M. Rinaldi-Ramos and Kyle D. Allen, from the Department of Chemical Engineering and the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, are investigating the application of nanoparticles as diagnostic and therapeutic agents for joint diseases, such as osteoarthritis. In a recent study published in Science Advances, their research provides new insight into the diffusion of nanoparticles in synovial fluid and their analogues through the application of state-of-the-art instrumentation to measure the translational and rotational motion of these tiny materials in complex biological fluid environments.
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