“We
are attacking an inherent physical property of HIV. Theoretically, there isn't
any way for the virus to adapt to that. The virus has to have a protective
coat, a double-layered membrane that covers the virus”
Comments by Joshua L. Hood, MD, PhD, Researcher at the Washington University School of Medicine in Phys.org, Friday March 8th 2013
Comments by Joshua L. Hood, MD, PhD, Researcher at the Washington University School of Medicine in Phys.org, Friday March 8th 2013
With
recent news making the headlines about a newborn baby in Mississippi being
cured of HIV (human Immuno-Deficiency Virus), the causative agent behind AIDS
(Acquired Immuno-deficiency Syndrome) as reported in no less than three (3)
major Media outlets as per the following articles:
1.
“Researchers:
Toddler cured of HIV”, published March 4, 2013 Updated 2154
GMT (0554 HKT) By Saundra Young, CNN
2.
“In
Medical First, a Baby With H.I.V. Is Deemed Cured”,
Published: March 3, 2013 By ANDREW POLLACK and DONALD G. McNEIL Jr, The New York Times
3.
“Baby
Cured of HIV for the First Time, Researchers Say”,
published Updated March 3, 2013, 4:33 p.m. ET, By RON WINSLOW, The Wall Street Journal.
I
was quite surprised how quickly this topic of a cure for AIDS has come back into
full view and was trending on Twitter, which was how this caught my attention
initially. Apparently everyone had forgotten about STD (Sexually Transmitted
Diseases) and they fact that they’re incurable.
So
it’s with interest that I perused my Twitter Feed @lindsworthdeer and came
across what appears to be the closest thing to a cure. Researchers at
Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed
nanoparticles with Bee venom poison Melittin attached on its outer surface to
kill HIV as reported in “Nanoparticles
loaded with bee venom kill HIV”, published March 8, 2013 by Julia
Evangelou, MedicalExpress
Interestingly,
the idea is breathtakingly simple. Nanoparticles, which are also called Nanodots,
are clumps of atoms, usually 20 or 30 in an associative Metallic or Covalent
bond Macromolecular structure. This is significant, as at the Macroscopic
level, the Atoms of the Elements that make up the Molecules result in the surfaces
we see and touch. The objects in our everyday world are being determined by
their outer shell of Electrons and their attraction for Atomic Nuclei of their
own Atoms or nearby Atoms.
Atoms
in the Periodic Table are always part of a larger Macromolecular Structure, be
it in the form of a Covalent Bonds e.g. non-metals or Metallic Crystalline
Structures e.g. metals. Covalently bonded Molecules form crystalline structure
via so called Van Der Waal and Hydrogen Bonds under certain conditions of
Temperature and pressure i.e. freezing.
So
to produce a chain of 20 or 30 Atoms is quite a remarkable feat in itself. This
as at that degree of separation, the usual forces mentioned above that make up
the stabilizing bonds are bare and as such, the Electrons are in a highly
unstable Excited State, ready to react EXPLOSIVELY with virtually ANY atom with
a nuclei, whether in a Covalent Bond or not.
Nanoparticles
or Nanodots (sometimes called Quantum dots due to their multiple Quantum
Mechanical States) also have strange interactions among themselves, exhibiting
properties akin to Bio-luminescence in animals as the Electrons in these 20-30
group of Atoms swap themselves around with each other whenever exposed to
Electromagnetic Radiation, be it Radio Waves or even Light in the Visible
Spectrum.
Additional
properties include:
1.
Lower Boiling and Melting Points
2.
Rapid Spontaneous Oxidation Reactions
without the need for Heat. A possible explanation for Spontaneous Combustion
phenomenon
3.
Photo Luminescent properties
For
this reason, samples of nanoparticles are usually stored under Vacuum
conditions and shielded from Electromagnetic radiation. It also gives clues to
their potential uses:
1.
Strengthening properties for
Macromolecular Structures
2.
More orderly Crystalline Structures
3.
Higher Density Data Storage
possibilities
4.
Targeted Drug Delivery
What
the Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine have achieved is not
quite short of extraordinary, having initially started out researching a cure
for Cancer based on Melittin using nanoparticles back in August of 2010 as
noted in “Novel bee venom
derivative forms a nanoparticle 'smart bomb' to target cancer cells”,
published August 2, 2010, Phys.org.
So
successful was this research group’s petitioned idea that it eventually won
funding from the 2010 Grand Challenges Explorations Grant from the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation for their eventual application as orally applied
Vaginal Gel Contraceptive for Women as reported in “Unconventional
idea for antiviral contraceptive gel wins Gates Foundation grant”,
published November 9, 2010, Phys.org.
The
researchers managed to attached the macromolecule Melittin, most likely under
controlled conditions mentioned above, without the nanoparticles reacting and
tearing the Melittin molecule apart. Most likely, they may have used a cage of
Lipids arranged in a bi-layer in a structure known as a Liposome made up of
stable lipids.
Lipids
are basically an organic compound that’s the constituent molecules of the
macromolecular structures we call fats, Oils and waxes. Their molecular
structure usually consists of a Hydrophilic “head”, usually a Phosphate Group and
a Hydrophobic Tail, usually composed of Glycerol Molecules. They can be one of
several types, depending on the number of Glycerol molecules attached:
1.
Monoglycerides
2.
Diglycerides
3.
Triglycerides
4.
Phospholipids
Examples
of lipids macromolecule structures include:
1.
Sterols
2.
Fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins
A, D, E, and K)
3.
Liposomes
Lipids
are mainly used in the human body for energy storage, cell membranes structures
as well as constituent in Nerve Cells. Because they can be both Hydrophillic
and Hydrophobic at the same time, a property that’s referred to as amphillic,
they're commonly structured into Liposomes and is used as a Targeted Drug
Delivery agents.
The
major types of Liposomes are:
1.
MLV (Multilamellar vesicle)
2.
SUV (Small unilamellar vesicle)
3.
LUV (Large unilamellar vesicle)
4.
Cochleate vesicle
Hence
they were a clear choice for the researchers to use as a drug delivery agent
but in quite a different way. Instead of the drugs being on the inside of the
Liposomes, they're attached on the outside. They then attached bumpers or
larger molecules onto bare surfaces of the Liposomes thereby making sure that
the Melettin is specifically designed to target the HIV Virus, being as it's much
smaller than the Healthy Cells.
Thus,
this makes it safe to attack cancerous cells and small Viruses like HIV, H1N1
(Swine Flue) or even the Common Cold. This as theoretically, it can also be
safely injected intravenously into the blood stream and effectively clear out
HIV and any other Viruses along with Cancer, to quote Joshua L. Hood, MD, PhD,
Researcher at the Washington University School of Medicine: “The basic particle
that we are using in these experiments was developed many years ago as an
artificial blood product. It didn't work very well for delivering oxygen, but
it circulates safely in the body and gives us a nice platform that we can adapt
to fight different kinds of infections”.
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