June 22, 2007 — Researchers from Luna Innovations Inc. and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) say they are the first to show that carbon nanospheres (“buckyballs”) can block allergic response in human cell culture experiments and mice. The findings are described in a paper entitled “Fullerene Nanomaterials Inhibit the Allergic Response” published in the July 1 issue of the Journal of Immunology. They set the stage for the development of new potential therapies for allergies using nanomaterials.
“This discovery is exciting because it points to the possibility that these novel materials can one day lead to new therapies,” said Chris Kepley, Ph.D., principal author on the paper and assistant professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology at the VCU School of Medicine.
“Through this joint collaboration with VCU, we demonstrated the ability to modulate the immune response with nanoscale precision,” said Dr. Robert Lenk, President of Luna Innovations’ nanoWorks Division and co-author of the paper. “Our experiments could be the beginning of an entirely new field of medicine we are calling nanoImmunology. We are excited about the potential possibilities in immunotherapeutics and other medical disorders that may be possible with these compounds.”
Luna CEO Kent Murphy said, “We are actively seeking pharmaceutical partnerships to help us accelerate the development and validation process of these new and exciting compounds.”
Allergy is the fifth leading chronic disease in the United States among all ages, and the third most common chronic disease among children under 18 years old, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. An estimated 50 million Americans (one in five) suffer from some type of allergy. There are currently various treatments to control allergies, but no known cure.