Nanoscale Tool For Treating Alcohol Intoxication

Scientists have a new strategy to fight alcohol abuse. They’ve trapped an enzyme pair that breaks down ethanol within a polymer nanocapsule with the aim of using it as a prophylactic or antidote to alcohol intoxication (Nat. Nanotechnol., DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2012.264). Because enzymes often work in tandem in the body, they are frequently confined in close proximity to one another within sophisticated subcellular compartments. To mimic this close interaction, a team led by UCLA’s Yunfeng Lu used DNA to corral as many as three enzymes. They then created a thin, permeable polymer shell to confine the assembly within a nanocapsule before stripping away its DNA scaffold. By pairing an alcohol oxidase enzyme and a catalase enzyme within the nanocapsules and then administering them to mice, the team was able to reduce the rodents’ blood-alcohol levels with either prophylactic use or administration after mice were intoxicated. “Considering the vast library of enzymes that are currently or potentially available, novel classes of enzyme nanocomplexes could be built for a broad range of applications,” the team notes.