Scientists Float Soap Bubbles As a More Effective Drug Delivery Method

Zothecula writes: As if soap bubbles don't spread enough happiness on their own, scientists have discovered a way of coating them in biomolecules with a view to treating viruses, cancer and other diseases. The technology has been developed at the University of Maryland, where researchers devised a method of tricking the body into mistaking the bubbles for harmful cells, triggering an immune response and opening up new possibilities in the delivery of drugs and vaccines.

Comments

This may explain....

[Zephyn]

...why Lawrence Welk lived into his late 80s.

Re:The real question

[Caesar Tjalbo]

... delivery of drugs and vaccines.

The question: Will 2 year-old children swallow soap bubbles?

Don't worry, you can put your vaccines in sand or shit and still deliver the payload to babies voluntarily. The challenge is usually to prevent a baby from eating stuff.

Bubbles in Bloodstream is Dangerous

[ad454]

Having bubbles in ones bloodstream is extremely dangerous, and potentially fatal. Just ask any informed scuba diver about the biggest risk they face.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D...

Even worse, there is evidence that bubbles in the bloodstream get covered by platelets, resulting in cumulative neurological damage.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pm...
https://www.uhms.org/images/DC...

The damaged caused by bubbles in the bloodstream will typically outweigh any medical benefit from this type of drug/vaccine delivery.

Re:Bubbles in Bloodstream is Dangerous

[louic]

The things these researchers use are not bubbles. Not even close. As usual, science reports by journalists and PR offices are terrible.

Re:Bubbles in Bloodstream is Dangerous

[MillionthMonkey]

You get the bends from high levels of nitrogen dissolved in blood plasma under pressure. If you move to low pressure regions near the water's surface too fast, the nitrogen is able to separate out into bubbles that get stuck in tissues and blood vessels.

These things are "round" like gas bubbles, but they're more like some sort of fake dummy cells, with a fluid interior surrounded by something that looks like a lipid bilayer made of soap-like molecules that bind together by van der Waals forces and have charged tips that interface with the surrounding water. There is no gas.

It's a badly written article- "oooh bubbles!" People should try not to write stupid shit like this, especially about vaccines. I'm already blue in the face screaming at thick skulled idiots on #CDCwhistleblowers who post crap about how vaccines cause autism because Big Pharma stuffs them with disgusting crap like dihydrogen monoxide.

micelles

[kencurry]

FTFA - "The soap bubbles—formally known as functionalized catanionic surfactant vesicles—are made of a combination of soap-like components that have an affinity for each other and spontaneously form capsules when mixed together." I think they mean to say micelles; they just needed to fancy it up for the patent apps, board meetings, and press releases.

Re:micelles

[Em Adespoton]

Yeah; and for all those people who don't know what micelles are, they could have said surfactants. It's still a novel idea and soft on hands while you do dishes, but much less media-friendly.

Re:micelles

[Anonymous Coward]

What ever breaks the tension I guess.

If only...

[Virtucon]

Lawrence Welk were still alive, he'd be at the forefront of big pharma. He cornered bubbles for years. "A wunnerful A wunnerful"

Tiny Bubbles

[PPH]

... make me feel fine.

Just what sort of drug are we talking about here?