快猫短视频

MEAT BALL shaped molecules studded with molecular bait could mop up viruses
before they get a chance to attack cells. Such 鈥渘anodecoys鈥� could filter out
biological weapons in gas masks or even intercept viral invaders when injected
into people, the meeting heard.

To infect cells, viruses must first attach to their surfaces by targeting
specific receptor molecules. So if you create decoys laden with these receptors,
you could mop up viruses鈥攁nd some bacteria鈥攂efore they reach
cells.

In the past, researchers have tried to make decoys with long chain-like
molecules. But controlling the length of these molecules has proved to be
difficult, and it鈥檚 hard to get rid of stray 鈥渓inks鈥�, or monomers, which are
toxic. Replacing the linear polymers with molecules called dendrimers may be the
answer, say Roseita Esfand and Donald Tomalia of the University of Michigan in
Ann Arbor.

Cousins of polymers, dendrimers are molecules that branch again and again,
forming spherical blobs. 鈥淚f linear polymers are like spaghetti,鈥� Tomalia says,
鈥渢hen dendrimers are the meat balls.鈥�

Dendrimers contain few, if any, wayward links, and their size is easily
controlled, Efsand says. Her team has shown that dendrimer decoys can prevent
flu viruses from infecting blood cells in culture. They are now beginning
experiments with mice.

Because of their round shape, dendrimers may foist more receptors on to a
virus than the linear polymers, Esfand says. However, George Whitesides, the
Harvard chemist who first proposed using decoys, isn鈥檛 so sure. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not clear
which will be more effective.鈥�