Nano meets Biotechnology

Last year I started a series of articles about nanoparticles in NewDrugs as author or co-author. The topics ranged from new surface modified nanoparticles as colloidal drug carrier systems for antisense and gene therapy, new analytical tools in Biotechnology to nanoparticulate delivery of cancer vaccines. This series will end with a study of cellular uptake characteristics of different biopolymer based nanoparticles and evaluation of their in vitro targeting capability in the current issue (page 20 - 23).

The response over the last year on my contributions was very good and some interesting communications followed. This demonstrates the importance of formulation and delivery of biotechnology products which are often not stable in physiological environments; biodegradable colloidal drug carrier systems seem to be a reasonable choice for that. On the other hand the characterization of these systems is also an important factor regarding their quality control. In our research group in Munich we have the great opportunity to combine the experience in FFF (Field-Flow Fractionation) that can be used for the analysis of a variety of biotechnological products (see NewDrugs issue No. 2, 2003) with the experience in nanoparticulate delivery. In a recent study we have demonstrated that it is possible to use FFF for the quality control of nanoparticulate delivery of biotechnological products (Fraunhofer, Winter, Coester, Analytical Chemistry, accepted 2004).
Recently, I was appointed as Scientific Editor and Head of the Advisory Board for NewDrug for 2004. I have taken over new obligations and therewith will not contribute further scientific research manuscripts to NewDrugs this year. I wish to have a broad variety of biotechnology topics and will carefully select scientific research manuscripts for the upcoming NewDrugs issues in 2004. It was nice to contribute this series of four manuscripts to the journal over the last year and the response confirmed my work as a topic of interest.
I wish everybody a successful year 2004,

- Conrad Coester -