20 Scientifc American, January 2011

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Advances
what i s i t?
Order from chaos: The Art of Science exhibit at Princeton University recently displayed a new
design for a material that will help researchers develop smaller circuits for compact photonic de-
vices, which use light instead of electrons to transmit information. To bend and guide light in pho-
tonic devices, engineers often create regular nanometer-scale patterns of holes called photonic
crystals. But photonic crystals regular patterns bend light diferently depending on the angle,
whereas the new materials, thanks to their random structure, would allow engineers to bend it at
any angle without losing information. This computer-generated image, created by Paul J. Steinhardt
and his colleagues at Princeton, shows networks of cylinders and walls (orange), which would be
carved out of a layer of silicon. Ann Chin
The blood-brain barrier, a dense layer of tight-
ly packed cells that line brain capillaries like a
regiment of infantrymen, has always been the
bane of neuromedicine. True, this line of defense
protects the brain from all manner of potentially
harmful chemicals. But it keeps most medica-
tions out, too. Scientists have spent decades
searching for ways to breach the barrier just
long enough for Alzheimers, Parkinsons or an-
titumor drugs to slip through. Now, researchers
say, they are fnally onto something.
The new method employs micro bubbles
small, preformed bubbles made up of a simple
gas surrounded by a rigid lipid cell. Scientists at
Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Tech-
nology, Columbia and other institutions are de-
veloping ways of injecting the bubbles into the
bloodstream and guiding them by ultrasound to
the blood-brain barrier. The bubbles then pry
open the barrier at specifc points targeted by
the ultrasound beam. Once the barrier is
breached, scientists inject drug-coated, mag-
netically charged nanoparticles into the patient
and utilize MRI beams to guide them to the pre-
cise spot where they are most needed. So far ro-
dent studies have shown as much as a 20 per-
cent increase in the amount of antitumor or
Alzheimers medication that reaches the brain
when ultrasound and microbubbles are used.
Microbubbles are only the latest and most
promising in a string of recent projects aimed at
solving the blood-brain barrier problem. These
include running a catheter into the brain capil-
laries and designing a whole suite of drugs that
would trick the brain into letting them cross.
Microbubbles are less invasive and more cost-
efective than other things weve come up with,
says Nathan McDannold, who is a radiologist
and researcher at Brig ham and Womens Hos-
pital in Boston.
Scientists need to iron out some kinks, how-
ever. The main problem is how to increase the
intensity of ultrasound to a level that will work
in humans without causing tissue damage. Mc-
Dannold believes that researchers are making
rapid progress on all fronts. Its not quite ready
for humans yet, he says. But we are getting
there, quickly. Jeneen Interlandi
Neuromedi ci Ne
Breaching the Brain Barrier
Tiny bubbles may help lifesaving drugs cross a crucial boundary
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Advances

Order from chaos: The Art of Science exhibit at Princeton University recently displayed a new
design for a material that will help researchers develop smaller circuits for compact photonic de-
vices, which use light instead of electrons to transmit information. To bend and guide light in pho-
tonic devices, engineers often create regular nanometer-scale patterns of holes called photonic
crystals. But photonic crystals regular patterns bend light dierently depending on the angle,
whereas the new materials, thanks to their random structure, would allow engineers to bend it at
any angle without losing information. This computer-generated image, created by Paul J. Steinhardt
and his colleagues at Princeton, shows networks of cylinders and walls (orange), which would be
carved out of a layer of silicon. Ann Chin
The blood-brain barrier, a dense layer of tight-
ly packed cells that line brain capillaries like a
regiment of infantrymen, has always been the
bane of neuromedicine. True, this line of defense
protects the brain from all manner of potentially
harmful chemicals. But it keeps most medica-
tions out, too. Scientists have spent decades
searching for ways to breach the barrier just
long enough for Alzheimers, Parkinsons or an-
titumor drugs to slip through. Now, researchers
say, they are nally onto something.
The new method employs micro bubbles
small, preformed bubbles made up of a simple
gas surrounded by a rigid lipid cell. Scientists at
Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Tech-
nology, Columbia and other institutions are de-
veloping ways of injecting the bubbles into the
bloodstream and guiding them by ultrasound to
the blood-brain barrier. The bubbles then pry
open the barrier at specic points targeted by
the ultrasound beam. Once the barrier is
breached, scientists inject drug-coated, mag-
netically charged nanoparticles into the patient
and utilize MRI beams to guide them to the pre-
cise spot where they are most needed. So far ro-
dent studies have shown as much as a 20 per-
cent increase in the amount of antitumor or
Alzheimers medication that reaches the brain
when ultrasound and microbubbles are used.
Microbubbles are only the latest and most
promising in a string of recent projects aimed at
solving the blood-brain barrier problem. These
include running a catheter into the brain capil-
laries and designing a whole suite of drugs that
would trick the brain into letting them cross.
Microbubbles are less invasive and more cost-
eective than other things weve come up with,
says Nathan McDannold, who is a radiologist
and researcher at Brig ham and Womens Hos-
pital in Boston.
Scientists need to iron out some kinks, how-
ever. The main problem is how to increase the
intensity of ultrasound to a level that will work
in humans without causing tissue damage. Mc-
Dannold believes that researchers are making
rapid progress on all fronts. Its not quite ready
for humans yet, he says. But we are getting
there, quickly. Jeneen Interlandi
NEUROMEDI CI NE
Breaching the Brain Barrier
Tiny bubbles may help lifesaving drugs cross a crucial boundary
sad0111_Adva3p.indd 20 11/23/10 6:00:45 PM Untitled-1 1 11/29/10 1:26:02 PM
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