The NanoLYRIC project: nanoparticles as drug carriers - 13/08/2026

Radiation-activated local chemotherapy

Conventional chemotherapy is associated with severe side effects because cytotoxic drugs act on the whole body. Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and the University Medical Centre Göttingen, in collaboration with Aalen University of Applied Sciences, are developing a novel approach in which a chemotherapeutic agent encapsulated in nanoparticles is released locally and selectively only upon targeted irradiation of the tumour.

Researchers are developing biotechnological processes that enable microbes to produce proteins and vitamins for human consumption using basic chemical ingredients, such as carbon dioxide, hydrogen and oxygen – entirely bypassing livestock farming and agriculture. Because these methods also require energy input, they are popularly called “power-to-protein” and “power-to-vitamin” processes.

New in Nature Nanotechnology: A DNA origami nanosyringe introduces mechanically controlled molecular transport into synthetic cells. This opens new opportunities for synthetic biology, engineered biointerfaces and molecular therapeutics.

A team led by researchers from the German Cancer Research Center, the HI-STEM* Stem Cell Institute, and Medical Clinic V at Heidelberg University Hospital has characterized T cells in the bone marrow in cases of multiple myeloma and acute myeloid leukemia: A specific group of tumor-reactive T cells can recognize and fight cancer cells, but is often not sufficiently activated. Nevertheless, the number of these cells influences the prognosis.

Researchers from the Medical Faculty Heidelberg, the Medical Faculty Mannheim, and the Centre for Organismal Studies at Heidelberg University have launched a new research project investigating so-called dipeptides. The consortium aims to determine which dipeptides have the strongest protective effects and how they could be harnessed in future therapies for vascular and kidney diseases.