Medicine
The building blocks of DNA direct the synthesis of proteins. Research at SNS & HFIR could help determine the shape and structure of those proteins.
Understanding how proteins work is essential to unlocking the secrets of life. Proteins defend us against infection, but in their mutant forms they contribute to the development of diseases, such as cancer and AIDS. The key to understanding how individual proteins work is to determine their shape. Neutron scattering is playing a vital role in this research.
Neutrons can provide information of vital interest to the pharmaceutical and medical industries.
Aging and cancer are caused partly by the abnormal functioning of DNA and proteins involved in regulating expression of a person's genetic pattern. Knowing the individual structures of these macromolecules will aid understanding of the chemical nature of disease at the atomic level, as well as the chemical mechanisms of genetic regulation.
Neutron research is helping scientists develop better materials for medical implants.
The superior ability of neutrons to precisely locate hydrogen atoms in macromolecular structures will likely be important in several medial applications. Complex fluids—such as blood and soft materials like the permeable walls of body cells and other membranes—are essential to the processes of life. Because these materials are composed of hydrogen and other light atoms, neutron scattering is ideal for studying small samples of these materials. In the pharmaceutical industry, using highly intense neutron beams to understand materials at the molecular level could speed the development of time-released, drug-delivery systems that target specific parts of the body. Research at HFIR is already yielding progress in this area.
Other benefits to the medical community include studies to develop better materials for medical applications, such as implants. Research at SNS involving "self-healing" polymers is helping scientists develop better materials for medical implants that are highly resistant to wear and corrosion but that have no detrimental effects on the body. Imagine a hip replacement made of materials so tailored that only a thin layer on the outer surface—the part in contact with the body—is biocompatible, while the rest of it is designed to be strong and stable to cope with any stress the body might put on it.
