Materials Science of Chinese Medicine: Reduce the size of medicinal materials and enlarge the curative effect

Chinese herbal medicine has a long history of thousands of years in our country, and its unique medicinal effect occupies an important position in the world medical community

Recently, the team of Professor Wu Shuilin from the School of Materials Science and Engineering of Tianjin University first put forward the concept of Chinese medicine materials science.

Chinese herbal medicine and materials science collide with sparks

Materials can exhibit different material properties on different scales

Over the past 20 years, nanotechnology has developed rapidly

The materials science of Chinese medicine proposed by Wu Shuilin's team is to use materials science methods to process Chinese herbal medicines into a kind of nano-level biological functional materials to enhance and improve the therapeutic effects of traditional Chinese medicine in various diseases

"This study selected different types of Chinese tea as raw materials for Chinese medicine, and synthesized them into natural tea nanodots with a particle size of about 3 nanometers

In addition to the above methods, nano-materials of traditional Chinese medicine can also be obtained through preparation methods such as nano-granulation and nano-drug loading

Nano granulation is mainly based on physical methods to granulate the effective parts of Chinese herbal medicines so that the particles reach the nanometer level

Nano-drug loading is to apply a series of physical and chemical properties, such as small size effect, surface effect, quantum size and synergistic effect, produced by substances at the nanometer scale to the loading and transmission of Chinese herbal medicines, forming a new drug loading.

The pharmacological data and targets of traditional Chinese medicine nanomaterials are clearer

"In this work, compared with traditional Chinese medicine, nanomaterials of traditional Chinese medicine have clearer pharmaceutical ingredients, higher antibacterial and antiviral activities, more accurate drug targets and better therapeutic effects

After preparing tea nanodots and discovering that it has good antibacterial and antiviral effects, Wu Shuilin's team has further explored its antibacterial and antiviral mechanisms

First, the research team explored the antibacterial mechanism of tea nanodots against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

At the same time, the team also studied the antiviral mechanism of tea nanodots against H1N1 influenza virus

In addition, the research team also found through drug compatibility screening that tea nanodots and luteolin, a traditional Chinese medicine component with similar molecular structure, have good synergistic antiviral and antibacterial effects after being mixed

"The material science strategy of Chinese medicine proposed this time overcomes the problems of traditional Chinese medicine to a certain extent.

The development of TCM materials science still needs original exploration

Wu Shuilin said that because the chemical components of Chinese herbal medicines and their extracts are very complex, it is difficult to clarify their pharmacological data and drug targets

The main difficulty in the research and development of traditional Chinese medicine nanomaterials lies in the development of preparation methods, that is, how to realize the nano-level controllable synthesis of effective ingredients in traditional Chinese medicines through existing nanotechnology
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To realize the industrialization of traditional Chinese medicine nanomaterials, the preparation methods are also facing more challenges, including the industrialization and large-scale production of preparation methods, the purity and yield of synthetic Chinese medicine nanomaterials, and the safety and efficacy of Chinese medicine nanomaterials in clinical human experiments.
issues
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"In the future, the development of Chinese medicine materials science needs further original exploration on the preparation methods of Chinese medicine nanomaterials
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" Wu Shuilin said that he has developed a technology with a certain degree of universality, standardized the preparation process, and formulated quality standards for the development of different types of Chinese herbal medicines.
Nanomaterials provide synthesis guidance
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At the same time, it is necessary to conduct comprehensive and in-depth research on the pharmacodynamics, pharmacology, and toxicology of Chinese herbal medicines at the nanometer scale, and carry out human experimental evaluations around clinical applications in terms of biological safety and therapeutic effect evaluation
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(Reporter Chen Xi)