How Is Nanotechnology Used in Medicine?
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Features
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Nanotechnology is a relatively new science that manipulates atoms and molecules to form new materials. Work is carried out on the nano-scale plane of measurement where one nanometer equals one billionth of a meter. Currently, scientists are looking to create a manufacturing environment using nano-scale tools. As such, nanotechnological applications within the field of medicine show great promise.
The signs of disease and sickness first appear at the cellular level. Instruments currently used within medicine can only detect abnormalities on a macro-scale. Fortunately, the cells within our bodies contain a self-regenerative ability that take over once medical treatment has been administered. Being able to diagnose and cure at the molecular level will enable physicians to treat the root origins of sickness and disease, and assist, or even replace, this regenerative process.
Applications
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Nanomedicine is the term used to describe the use of molecular particles to administer heat, drugs, light or other agents to treat ailing cells within the body. These particles would have to be manufactured on a nano-scale level which would require tools small enough to work within the nano-scale of measurement. Nanocrystalline silver is one such form of medicine currently administered at the nano level.
The topical application of silver in the treatment of wounds has been used for centuries. Silver contains specific properties that aid in healing and prevent inflammation. Nanocrystalline silver is silver that's been reduced to its molecular level and it becomes crystallized in the process. Scientists have found that materials, or elements, reduced to their nano-level equivalents behave differently than their macro-sized equivalents.
At the nano-level, silver becomes a much stronger agent and takes on stronger healing properties. The substance is applied in molecular layers on the wound's surface. As a result, the healing properties of the nano-sized silver remains active for days, as compared to the short term effects of macro-sized silver treatments, of minutes or hours. As of yet, nanocrystalline silver is the only treatment of its kind within the field of nanomedicine.
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Tools in Use
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Today, some progress has been made toward developing the tools that will be used to scan the body for signs of sickness and disease. Among these discoveries are the Q-dot and the nanoshell. Both are being developed for the purpose of early detection of illness. Future applications of these tools will allow doctors to administer treatment drugs on the cellular level at the point of detection.
In 2004, Naomi Halas, a professor of chemistry at Rice University, created the nanoshell particle as a possible detector and cure for cancer cells. Nanoshells are round in shape with a gold-coated core and a glass interior. The make-up of the particle would include a sensor and a heat generating element that would be applied inside the cancerous cell, thereby leaving nearby healthy cells intact. The nanoshell particles are injected into the blood stream. Their built-in sensors are made to seek out and attach to only cancerous cells.
In 2005, Shimon Weiss, a researcher at UCLA, introduced Q-dots, or quantum dots. Q-dots are also injected into the bloodstream to serve as biomarkers that mark diseased cell structures within the body. Q-dots are nano-crystals that act as probes. Once embedded inside a diseased cell structure, scientists are able to monitor cell behavior and identify abnormal activities within the cell. Nanotechnologists are working towards adding drug administering capabilities to Q-dots which will treat diseased cell structures on the spot, once located.
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Resources
- Photo Credit http://www.ks.uiuc.edu/, http://www.foresight.org/
