Pavithra Vivekanand, associate professor of biologyGold nanoparticles have been the subject of scientific research for many years, particularly for their application in cancer treatment. 生物系和化学系的教师和学生联合起来，采用一种新颖的方法进行自己的研究，他们从柠檬草和绿茶等天然来源中创造了多用途纳米粒子，以测试它们对宫颈癌和黑色素瘤癌细胞的有效性.
“金纳米颗粒传统上是用市售的化合物合成的,” said Pavithra Vivekanand, associate professor of biology. “使用天然资源的优势在于它们更环保，而且对所有细胞的毒性都更小. 我们在研究过程中发现，从绿色来源合成的金纳米颗粒比化学合成的纳米颗粒对癌细胞更有效.”
To create the gold nanoparticles, biology major Brooke Weaver ’22 boiled lemongrass to create an extract. The extract was then combined with gold chloride to form the “green” nanoparticle. Creating the extract wasn’t as easy as it sounds.
“我的前任和我用不同品牌的柠檬草进行了多次试验，并尝试了不同的程序，以确保提取物尽可能纯净,” Weaver said. “If the glassware wasn’t properly cleaned or the extract wasn’t filtered, often the nanoparticles will discolor.”
Swarna Basu, chair and professor of chemistryAfter mastering this process under the direction of Swarna Basu, professor of chemistry, 韦弗将宫颈癌和黑色素瘤癌细胞暴露在绿色纳米颗粒和传统纳米颗粒中48小时, 之后，韦弗发现绿色的合成纳米颗粒“在杀死癌细胞方面更有效”,” she said.
下一步是确定细胞是如何死亡的——因为死亡的方式有好有坏, Vivekanand explained. Their research determined that the cancer cells were dying by apoptosis, an orderly process of cell death and the one hoped for by Vivekanand. The reverse is known as necrosis, in which the dying cell’s contents spill out and cause inflammation.
“围绕这些绿色纳米颗粒的许多现有研究都集中在表征它们的大小上, shape and light absorption. 很少有研究检查这些纳米颗粒对各种癌细胞系可能产生的细胞毒性作用,” Weaver said. “我很高兴能向科学界发表我自己的发现，证实现有的研究.”
Using Honey To Suppress Inflammation
Elsewhere in the lab, biomedical sciences 23岁的约翰·邓肯(John Duncan)少校进行了类似的研究，以确定从蜂蜜中合成的金纳米颗粒是否能有效改变免疫细胞对炎症的反应.
“已经确定，各种金纳米颗粒抑制巨噬细胞的促炎反应, which fight bacteria, that can be triggered by bacterial lipopolysaccharide, which is a structural component of a bacterial cell,” Duncan said. “Since honey has known anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, 我们想用蜂蜜合成的金纳米颗粒来测试它们对lps激活的巨噬细胞的影响.”
除了测试从当地杂货店购买的商业生产的蜂蜜, Duncan also used honey gathered from Susquehanna’s own beehives at the Center for Environmental Education and Research — dark honey collected in the fall and light honey collected in the spring.
初步结果表明，蜂蜜合成的金纳米颗粒可以抑制细胞的炎症反应.
“Interestingly, the response appears to be specific to interleukin-6, a protein that helps to regulate immune response,” Duncan said. “Our preliminary findings are very encouraging. 鉴于高水平的促炎蛋白与许多慢性炎症性疾病有关, 找到一种相对新颖的方法来抑制这些蛋白质可能具有治疗意义.”
