The Amazing Buckyball: How to Track Nanomaterials in the Human Body
Buckyballs made of 60 carbon atoms in a unique spherical shape may be used to deliver drugs into the body.Copyright 2017 Diana Gano, Nanotechnology RET, Rice University
Students learn how nanoparticles can be creatively used for medical diagnostic purposes. They learn about buckminsterfullerenes, more commonly known as buckyballs, and about the potential for these complex carbon molecules to deliver drugs and other treatments into the human body. They brainstorm methods to track buckyballs in the body, then build a buckyball from pipe cleaners with a fluorescent tag to model how nanoparticles might be labeled and detected for use in a living organism. As an extension, students research and select appropriate radioisotopes for different medical applications.
Biomedical engineers are exploring new methods for delivering drugs in the body using buckyballs. Researchers must also be able to trace nanomaterials like buckyballs in the body, and chemists and chemical engineers are using technology based on radioisotopes to track them inside a living organism, or in vivo. For example, researchers at Rice University are engineering nanotubes loaded with gadolinium-based compounds—a component of a contrasting agent—as a way to improve sensitivity in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Medical professionals use a similar labeling technique engineered for use in positron-emission tomography (PET) scans to follow nanotubes through the body—objects that must contain a radioactive isotope before they can be traced.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Describe how researchers are using nanotechnology, specifically buckyballs, to deliver drugs and therapies in the body.
- Build a buckyball out of pipe cleaners and identify its tracer (a fluorescent segment visible under a black light).
- Research and identify appropriate radioisotopes for use in tracing buckyballs in vivo.