innovate arkansas

Biotechnology isn't at the forefront of Arkansas' most prominent exports - the Razorbacks and Wal-Mart sit safely atop their respective perches. But a look back at the biotech advancements made at Arkansas research universities in 2009 suggests biotechnology soon could be challenging Hog calls and discount prices as the state's No. 1 brand.

Some significant biotech movement was made at the state's leading research universities: The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.

Examples include research scientists at UAMS and UALR revealing what they called a breakthrough in cancer treatment involving the use of carbon nanotubes to detect and target tumors, researchers at Fayetteville and UAMS announcing they had developed a special contrast-imaging agent capable of mapping lymphatic cells and detecting cancer metastasis in lymph nodes, and the UA board of trustees approving bonds to help fund construction of a new $9 million nanotechnology center at UALR.

Here's a look back at those some of the highlights:  

January

The Springdale Technology Park opened with homegrown firm Duralor as its first occupant. Duralor is a spin-off of NanoMech, a UA startup that produces nano-based coating for medical implants, among other uses.

The Statewide Conference on Nanotechnology in Health Care was held at the UA's Winthrop Rockefeller Institute on Petit Jean Mountain, bringing together the state's leading biotech researchers to share ideas.

UA researchers announced they had demonstrated that magnetic nanotubes can be exploited to treat neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease, because they can be used as a delivery vehicle for the nerve-growth factor.

May

Potentially groundbreaking research, published in the Journal of Biomedical Optics, was announced by scientists with UALR's Nanotechnology Center and the Winthrop Rockefeller Cancer Institute at UAMS. Their method entails targeting cancer cells with nanoparticles, 25,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair, which attach themselves to the bad cells and reveal to doctors the precise location of the cancer. The nanoparticles attached to the cancerous cells are then heated by a laser and destroyed.

June

The University of Arkansas received an additional $1.5 million toward construction of a new Nanotechnology Research Center on Dickson Street after Gov. Mike Beebe released the money from the state's General Improvement Fund.

Three sites in Little Rock's midtown area, two of them along the city's 12th Street corridor, were recommended as possibilities for a potential 30-acre biomedical research park. A timeline presented to city officials suggested early 2013 as a target date for the park's first building. The third site is located just north of the UALR campus in the Oak Forest neighborhood. The park would serve as a physical embodiment for the research collaboration among UALR, UAMS and Arkansas Children's Hospital.

July
Neurobiology researchers at ASU announced they had fabricated carbon and magnetic nanotubes of different diameters to incorporate neural-growth factors and potentially deliver growth factors and guide directional neuron growth.

Biomedical researchers at the University of Arkansas and UAMS developed a special contrast-imaging agent capable of molecular mapping of lymphatic endothelial cells and detecting cancer metastasis in sentinel lymph nodes. The new material could be used as a more efficient and less toxic alternative to nanoparticles and fluorescent labels used in the non-invasive, targeted molecular detection of normal cells, such as immune-related cells, and abnormal cells, such as cancer cells and bacteria. Findings were published in Nature Nanotechnology.

September
The University of Arkansas Board of Trustees formally approved a $34 million bond issue for UALR that will generate $31.6 million for capital projects over the next three years, including a $9 million nanotechnology center, increasing UALR's reach in the field that could have a major economic impact. Approval for the new building came four years after the Arkansas General Assembly allocated $5.9 million to establish the Arkansas Nanotechnology Center at UALR as a cutting-edge lab designed to produce significant nanotechnology research. Since then, UALR's nanotechnology program has produced research that has resulted in 23 patent applications and is beginning to produce fledgling companies that will market the research when appropriate.

November

A team led by UAMS nanotechnology researchers found a way to capture tumor cells in the bloodstream that could dramatically improve early cancer diagnosis and prevent deadly metastasis. Scientists were able to inject a cocktail of magnetic and gold nanoparticles with a special biological coating into the bloodstream to target circulating tumor cells. A magnet attached to the skin above peripheral blood vessels captured the cells. Their findings were published in Nature Nanotechnology.