Towards Safer Metal-Based Nanomedicines
A new analytical method developed at Chiba University combines asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation (AF4) with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to precisely quantify metal ions, hydroxide colloids, and nanoparticles of the same element in pharmaceutical formulations. Tested on the iron oxide-based MRI contrast agent Resovist, the technique identified just 0.022 percent of total iron in ionic form, while the active nanoparticles remained under 30 nm in diameter – indicating high formulation stability.
The method addresses a key limitation in existing pharmaceutical guidelines, which typically evaluate only total elemental content. By resolving chemically distinct forms, the AF4-ICP-MS approach provides greater clarity for quality control and toxicity assessment.
“By incorporating a novel evaluation method that addresses a previously overlooked issue in current evaluation guidelines, we can ensure the safe use of metal-based nanomedicines such as Resovist and Ferinject,” said study lead Yu-ki Tanaka. The researchers also demonstrated its broader utility for nanoparticle evaluation in food, cosmetics, and environmental materials.
Having A Whale of a Time
Researchers have discovered the earliest known use of whale bone tools, dating to around 20,000 years ago, in archaeological sites along the Bay of Biscay. The study, led by an international team from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, CNRS, and the University of British Columbia, analyzed over 170 worked and unworked bone fragments using collagen peptide mass fingerprinting (ZooMS), radiocarbon dating, and stable isotope analysis.
The bones were traced to at least six large whale species – including fin, blue, gray, and sperm whales – and were predominantly shaped into projectile points and foreshafts during the Magdalenian period. “ZooMS is a powerful technique for investigating past sea mammal diversity, particularly when diagnostic morphometric elements are missing,” said lead author Krista McGrath in the team’s press release. Stable isotope data also suggested dietary patterns broadly consistent with modern whale species, offering a window into past marine ecosystems.
The findings push back the timeline for whale use in human societies and suggest that coastal groups exploited stranded whales as a key source of materials during the Late Glacial. The tools represent not only technological adaptation, but also rare archaeological insight into early human–marine mammal interactions.
Palaoeproteomics Reveals Secrets of 200-Year-Old Human Brain
A team at the University of Oxford has developed a method to extract and identify proteins from archaeological soft tissues, unlocking a new source of palaeobiological data. Using a liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS) workflow enhanced with high-field asymmetric-waveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS), the researchers recovered more than 1,200 unique proteins from a 200-year-old preserved brain – the most diverse paleoproteome reported to date.
The study benchmarked ten protein extraction protocols and found that urea-based lysis paired with optimized cleanup steps was most effective at disrupting lipid-rich membranes and liberating low-abundance intracellular proteins. "Until now, studies on ancient proteins have been confined largely to mineralised tissues such as bones and teeth," commented lead author Alexandra Morton-Hayward. "Our method changes that."
The results suggest that internal organs may preserve more proteomic information than bone, offering new opportunities for studying past health and disease using archaeological soft tissues.
Long In The Tooth
Ancient proteins extracted from 2-million-year-old tooth enamel are reshaping our understanding of Paranthropus robustus, a distant human relative that lived alongside Homo and Australopithecus in southern Africa. Using high-resolution mass spectrometry and paleoproteomics, researchers analyzed enamel proteins from four Paranthropus fossils from Swartkrans cave, revealing unexpected molecular diversity within the species.
The study offers the first molecular sex identifications in early African hominins and shows that variation in P. robustus cannot be explained by sexual dimorphism alone. One specimen displayed distinct protein sequences, suggesting either unrecognized intraspecific variation or the presence of a separate taxon. These findings challenge the view of Paranthropus as a uniform lineage and support the growing case for species-level diversity within the genus – including the proposed P. capensis.
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