NANOTECHNOLOGY TO REVOLUTIONIZE MEDICINE
Abstract
One of the most promising technologies of 21st century is nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is a collective term referring to technological developments on the nanometer scale, usually 0.1-100 nm. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter, too small to be seen with a conventional laboratory microscope. It is at this size scale - about 100 nanometers or less - that biological molecules and structures inside living cells operate. Therefore, nanotechnology is engineering and manufacturing at the molecular scale.
Nanomedicine is new concept in combining nanotechnology and medicine. Nanotherapeutics is the use of nanomedicine in therapy. The definition of nanomedicine requires attention as the nanotechnology represents a cluster of technologies. Nanomedicine, an offshoot of nanotechnology, refers to highly specific medical intervention at the molecular scale for curing disease or repairing damaged tissues, such as bone, muscle, or nerve Utilities of nanotechnology to biomedical sciences implies creation of materials and devices designed to interact with the body at sub-cellular scales with a high degree of specificity. This could be potentially translated into targeted cellular and tissue-specific clinical applications aimed at maximal therapeutic effect with very limited adverse-effects. Nanomedicine can offer impressive resolutions for various life threatening diseases. Disease areas which can be expected to benefit most from nanotechnology within the next few years are cancer, diseases of the cardiovascular system, the lungs, blood, neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, inflammatory/infectious diseases, and orthopaedic problems. This article presents an overview of some of the applications of nanotechnology in nanomedicine.
Key Words:
Nanotechnology, Nanomedicine, Quantum Dots (QDs), Nanoparticle
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