The use of nanotechnology in medicine offers some exciting possibilities. Some techniques are only imagined, while others are at various stages of testing, or actually being used today.
Nanotechnology in medicine involves applications of nanoparticles currently under development, as well as longer range research that involves the use of manufactured nano-robots to make repairs at the cellular level (sometimes referred to as nanomedicine).
Whatever you call it, the use of nanotechnology in the field of medicine could revolutionize the way we detect and treat damage to the human body and disease in the future, and many techniques only imagined a few years ago are making remarkable progress towards becoming realities.
Nanotechnology in Medicine Application: Drug Delivery
One application of nanotechnology in medicine currently being developed involves employing nanoparticles to deliver drugs, heat, light or other substances to specific types of cells (such as cancer cells). Particles are engineered so that they are attracted to diseased cells, which allows direct treatment of those cells. This technique reduces damage to healthy cells in the body and allows for earlier detection of disease.
For example, nanoparticles that deliver chemotherapy drugs directly to cancer cells are under development.
Nanotechnology and drug delivery
Nanotechnology in Medicine Application: Therapy Techniques
Buckyballs may be used to trap free radicals generated during an allergic reaction and block the inflammation that results from an allergic reaction.
Nanoshells may be used to concentrate the heat from infrared light to destroy cancer cells with minimal damage to surrounding healthy cells .
Nanoshells as Cancer Therapy
The following figure, supplied by the National Cancer Institute, illustrates the uses of nanoparticles such as the AuroShell™ developed by Nanospectra Biosciences to destroy cancer cells.
Source: The Web site of the National Cancer Institute (www.cancer.gov)
Nanoparticles, when activated by x-rays, that generate electrons that cause the destruction of cancer cells to which they have attached themselves. This is intended to be used in place radiation therapy with much less damage to healthy tissue. Nanobiotix has released preclinical results for this technique.
Micro and nanotechnologies are revolutionising medicine
'Almost invisible' tools are being developed by European researchers to discover diseases earlier and to treat patients better. The miniaturisation of instruments to micro and nano dimensions promises to make our future lives safer and cleaner. A team of European researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Technologies Institute near Saarbruecken is using nanotechnology to improve diagnostic capabilities. In the "Adonis"-project, nano-sized gold particles are used to detect prostate cancer cells at an early stage
'Almost invisible' tools are being developed by European researchers to discover diseases earlier and to treat patients better. The miniaturisation of instruments to micro and nano dimensions promises to make our future lives safer and cleaner. A team of European researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Technologies Institute near Saarbruecken is using nanotechnology to improve diagnostic capabilities. In the "Adonis"-project, nano-sized gold particles are used to detect prostate cancer cells at an early stage
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