technical report
7
Importance of Nanotechnology in medicine
Bibhusit hamal, Department of Computer Science and Information System, A&M Commerce
Abstract
Nanotechnology has changed the technology field a lot and also there has been changes in the field of nanotechnology, since medicine have started to adopt it. These days the use of nanotechnology in medicine has become more usual in medical lines. It helps to get faster way to get cure for diseases such as cardio vascular .
Keywords: Next generation, nanotechnology in medicine, diseases, future medicine
Introduction
Nanotechnology, commonly shortened to nanotech, is a fairly new field with most applications still under research. Nanotech tries to use matter on a supramolecular, molecular and atomic level for industrial purposes. The early nanotechnology focused on manipulating nanotechnology atomic and molecular particles to create macroscale products. This field is today known as molecular nanotech. In the recent past, the definition of nanotech has been taken to be matter particles with diameters between 1 and 100 nanometers. At this scale, the particles start exhibiting a lot of quantum mechanical properties. These new properties must be taken into account when designing any products. Nanotechnology is mostly still in research and it will be interesting to see where it heads. Currently, nanotech is applied in many fields ranging from manufacturing to medicine. Nanoparticles can be organic, inorganic or biological. They can be engineered in the lab or exist in nature. Examples of nanoparticles in nature include smoke, volcanic ash, and salt particles among others. Some of the fields that have successfully applied nanotechnology include cosmetics, textiles, electronics, environmental conservation, automotive, energy, food security and medicine. All these applications have contributed significantly to the improvements in the specific industries. Examples of how nanotech is used in medicine include imaging and diagnosis, drug delivery, cancer treatment and cardiovascular treatment. This paper will look at nanotech and its uses in medicine and some of the advantages and disadvantages.
What is Nanotech
As already mentioned above, nanotechnology is the manufacture and use of devices in the nanoscale. Since they are small in size, a single particle by itself is useless. However, when used in mass, they can be controlled and their benefit realized.
Importance of Nanotech and its Uses in Medicine
Medicine is one of the fields that has benefitted from the research of nanotechnology. It is used in application ranging from imaging to cancer treatment. There are various types of cancer but they all start the same way and exhibit the same symptoms. Research is still ongoing into how nanotech can be used to treat the different types of cancers and other degenerative diseases. Medicine continues to be one of the largest beneficiaries of nanotech research as can be seen by all the various ways that nanotech is used in the field. The following are some of the major importance of nanotechnology in medicine.
Lowering Cost of Medication
Conditions that could not be detected on time such as cancers inside the organs can now are detected on time. Cancer is difficult to treat in advanced stages. However, when discovered early, it can be treated quickly and cheaply. The patients do not run the risk of requiring transplant any major organs such as the kidney or the liver. As a result, the cost of the whole treatment is lower than a single session at the late stages of the disease.
Quick Diagnosis
Many organs that require imaging for diagnosis of diseases are normally critical ones that it might become impossible to operate on them. As a result, the conventional imaging devices are normally used to do the imaging have to wait until the surface of the organ gets affected. The ability of nanotech to penetrate the organs and image the interior is normally makes diagnosis quicker. The imaging can detect the diseases at an early stage and treat them before spreading.
Where it is used in Medicine
Imaging and diagnosis
Imaging is used for diagnosis of various medical conditions. Imaging takes a photograph of bones organs and soft tissues and then studies it to find any anomalies. Imaging bones is the easiest because the doctor only needs an X-ray machine. However, imaging soft tissues and organs is not so easy. Ultrasound, CT and MRI among others are widely used to image the soft tissues and they have revolutionized diagnosis and treatment of various diseases. However, they only image the surface of the organs and tissues. Such imaging is useful if the damage to the organs is from the outside of the organ. If the damage is from the inside like how many diseases work, the imaging techniques listed above will not work. They will show anomaly when the damage reaches the surface. By the time that the damage gets to the surface, the disease is normally in advanced stages and treatment is difficult and prohibitively expensive. Nanotech can improve imaging by using nanoparticles to target and contrast the diseased tissues. There have been attempts to improve the imaging by using such agents. However, the agents that have been used in the past exhibited high metabolism and non-specific distribution. A better class of agents has recently emerged after research into nanotech showed that they can be targeted to the specific diseased tissue. They also do not have a high metabolism and are less likely to be toxic to the tissue. X rays, at first had difficulty targeting and contrasting the tissue because it needed heavy atoms to be delivered to the targeted area without causing toxic reactions. Nanotech research discovered that using inert atoms such as gold and silver achieved the purpose.
Drug delivery
Nanotechnology is also used drug delivery to targeted tissues. Normally, when an internal route for drug delivery to a tissue is not available, an external one is used. For example, when a tissue cannot be reached, a surgery or radiotherapy is carried out. Each of the methods has its pros and cons. Doctors determine the best option for a patient depending on various factors such as stage of the disease and type of medicine. They can also be used interchangeably and the intention is normally to permanently get rid of the infection disease or tumor. Nanotechnology has entered this space and they are providing alternatives to the two ways of drug delivery.
One reason why there might not a route for internal delivery is because the drug is toxic to other organs. Thus, in trying to treat one organ, the treatment could destroy others and leave them diseased. Nanotechnology can be used to deliver drugs safely. For example, doxorubicin is a drug that is highly toxic to many body organs. Despite, its high toxicity, it can be delivered to the tumor cells without affecting the heart or the kidneys. Moreover, paclitaxel and Genexol-PM can be used to treat metastatic breast cancer.
A good drug delivery systems needs to have two properties. First, it needs to have control over drug release. Secondly, it needs targeting ability to ensure that the drug goes to the desired location. This way, side effects are significantly lowered because the drugs will not get the opportunity to interact with other organs. The nanotech drug delivery system ensures long drug bioavailability. It also ensures that drugs that are hard to dissolve remain longer to be dissolved and used.
Cancer treatment
Many people all over the world have cancer. As it stands, today cancer does not have a uniform drug that works for all types of tumors. Every case of cancer is special and has to be treated differently from the rest of the cases. Since each case is unique, patients will spend a lot of time during diagnosis and treatment. Most cancer cases are discovered in late stages and make it difficult to treat because a lot of damage has occurred. Some cancers can be discovered early while others cannot and have to wait until it gets to the surface of the organ.
Most cancers are diagnosed by a form of imaging. Since the conventional imaging techniques cannot penetrate the surface of organs, they cannot be used to accurately diagnose onset of cancer. As a result, cancerous cells have to grow and reach the surface before they can be detected. The first use of nanotech in cancer treatment is in the imaging and diagnosing. It detects even the small tumors that would remain undetectable to normal imaging techniques.
After successful diagnosis, treatment follows. There are different ways to treat tumors. Surgery physically removes the tumor while other approaches such as radiotherapy seeks to kills the cells over time. Nanotechnology allows for drugs to be targeted and delivered to the diseased region without poisoning unintended parts. As a result, nanotechnology is a safer way to treat cancer using anticancer drugs. For example, paclitaxel has been approved by the FDA for use in metastatic breast cancer. Other drugs formulations are still under research and it is only a matter of time before they become approved and available. Nanotechnology can detect and treat various types of cancers and save the patients from pain and expensive treatment.
Cardiovascular treatment
The pumps the bloods and when it gets sick, most body organs might not function optimally. Cardiovascular diseases are the leading causes of death. Sadly, the death rate is increasing due to the lifestyles that many people are choosing to live. A few examples of some of the diseases include blockage of blood in flow in a region, hypertension, and stroke among others. These diseases if not treated can lead to death after a long disability. For example, the use of CREKA-peptide-modified-nanoemulsion loaded with 17-B has been shown to reduce early atherosclerosis by reducing lesion size. Liposomal drug delivery has been shown to reduce thrombosis and platelet aggregation.
Essential Characteristics of Nanotechnology in Medicine
Nanotechnology has different characteristics depending on how it is used in medicine. One characteristic that is shared by all the application is that it should be safe. It should be safe on all the body organs that it touches.
Benefits of Nanotechnology in Medicine
Problems of Nanotechnology in Medicine
Opportunities in Nanotechnology in Medicine
Challenges of Nanotechnology in medicines
Conclusion
References
Nanotechnology in Medicine: Challenges and Opportunities for Future Nanomedicine https://industrywired.com/nanotechnology-in-medicine-challenges-and-opportunities-for-future-nanomedicine/
What Is Nanotechnology? | National Nanotechnology Initiative
https://www.nano.gov/nanotech-101/what/definition