Chemical News

March | April 2013

Milk protein enables targeted drug delivery
Chemists at Université Laval have combined a common protein found in cow and sheep milk with mesoporous silica to create a new type of functionalized nanoparticle that can deliver drugs to specific regions of the body based on differences in pH.

Mussel ‘glue’ protects damaged blood vessels
An international team led by a researcher from the University of British Columbia has designed a new hydrogelbased treatment for damaged blood vessels.

New class of conductive polymers synthesized
Researchers at the University of Toronto have synthesized a new class of conducting polymers — polytellurophenes — that could bring about advances in organic solar cells and thin-film transistors.

January | February 2013

Hagfish slime reengineered into films, fibres
A team from the University of Guelph has become the first to make polymer-like films and fibres from solubilised proteins extracted from hagfish slime.

Mechanochemical reactions tracked in real time
A McGill chemist has become the first to track the progress of a reaction that involves mechanical milling in real time through the use of x-ray diffraction.

Marine sponge yields potential cystic fibrosis drug
A chemical isolated from marine sponges has shown surprising activity in both cell and animal models of cystic fibrosis, and could become the basis for a new therapeutic.