The Korea Herald

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Scientists develop gold nanomaterials for gout treatment

By KH디지털2

Published : March 22, 2017 - 16:01

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A group of South Korean scientists developed a new type of gold nano-sized materials to treat hyperuricemia, the science ministry said Wednesday, opening a new gateway for the treatment of diseases such as gout.

Hyperuricemia is a phenomenon marked by an abnormally high level of uric acid in the blood. Such a high level of uric acid is associated with numerous diseases ranging from cardiovascular illnesses to gout.

(Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning) (Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning)

The team led by Kwon In-chan of the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology discovered that catalase-mimic gold nanoparticle nanozyme can effectively treat hyperuricemia without side effects, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said.

"Because of the great biocompatibility of PVP-coated gold nanoparticle nanozymes, the UOX-AuNP nanozyme cascade systems have great potential for the treatment of TLS and gout," the researchers said in a paper. TLS stands for tumor lysis syndrome.

The research was funded by the science ministry and the findings were published in the latest edition of the journal "Scientific Reports." (Yonhap)