carbon nanoparticles
Nanoparticles Create Spirals in the Lungs
Posted on by Dr. Francis Collins
Source: Prajnaparamita Dhar, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Kansas, Lawrence
These eye-catching spirals may resemble a trendy print from Diane von Furstenberg’s Spring Collection, but they’re actually a close-up of lung surfactant—a lipid-protein film that coats the inside of the air sacs in the lungs, making it easier to breathe. Made using fluorescence microscopy techniques, this image shows what happens to the surfactant (black) when it interacts with carbon nanoparticles.
Scientists found that carbon nanoparticles rearrange the surfactant molecules from kidney bean shaped clusters into solid spirals. Since carbon nanoparticles may be effective drug delivery vehicles, it’s important to know how these molecules alter the surfactant—and whether these changes are harmful.
The verdict is still out on whether disrupting the surfactant triggers breathing problems, but we can still be mesmerized by the image.
