UGA Researchers Call New Development a 'Technological Breakthrough'

A new study by University of Georgia researchers heralds the development of a synthetic cholesterol nanoparticle that could aid in early diagnosis of hardening of the arteries, or atherosclerosis, and its treatment, says UGA. 

The study was published online Monday, May 13, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Study coauthors assistant professor Shanta Dhar and graduate student Sean Marrache of the Franklin College chemistry department constructed the nanoparticle — a biodegradable, synthetic version of the so-called good cholesterol — in Dhar's NanoTherapeutics Research Laboratory. According to a news release, bench-scale animal trials have shown the nanoparticle resulted in significant reductions in total cholesterol and triglycerides, the chemical form in which most fat exists in the body. 

"Chemists always seek to make things more synthetic, and, with me, the goal is always to make the product biodegradable," Dhar said in the release. "That was the unique combination that led us to come up with these technologies that hold promise for translational tools that could aid in early diagnosis and prevent vulnerable plaque progression."

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