Lund reports nanowire progress

Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have for the first time successfully injected 'nanowires' into the brains of rats.

The breakthrough at Lund has significant implications for understanding how the body reacts to nanoparticles. Nanoscale electrodes are able to stimulate very small components of the brain, however, it is not known what would happen if the nano-electrodes break away from their contact points.

Researchers at Lund University set up the worst-case scenario during the investigations and found brain cells called 'microglia' were able to clean up the wires.

The study used nanowires that were mixed into a fluid and injected into the rat brains. An equal number of rats were given the solution without the nanowires. After one, six, and 12 weeks, the researchers looked at how the rat brains reacted to the nanowires. After 12 weeks, only minor differences were shown between the brains of the test group and the control group.