Abstract |Nanotechnology is an emerging scientific field creating materials, devices and systems at the molecular level. By being able to work at the ultra-small scale( billionth of a metre), nanotechnology is being used to deliver innovations in sectors including health. Nanomedicine is the medical application of Nanoscience which ranges application of Nanomaterials to Nanoelectronic biosensors and even future applications of molecular technology.
Around 130 nano-tech based drugs and delivery systems are been developed worldwide (Nature materials, April 2006) . Nanomedicine exploits the improved physical, chemical and biological properties of materials at the nanoscale, and offers the potential to enable early detection, prevention, improved diagnosis and imaging, treatment of diseases. Nanomedicine includes targeted delivery and regenerative medicine; it interfaces nanomaterials (surfaces, particles, etc) or analytical instruments with “living” human material (cells, tissue, body fluids).
Nanomedicines are solution to some disease like Cancer, diabetics, cardiovascular diseases, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Uses of NanoMedicine : ? Targeted drug delivery ? Diagnosis and Imaging ? Regenerative medicines Targeted drug delivery Target drug delivery seeks to concentrate medicine to diseased cells/tissues and organs. This is in contrast to current drug delivery trends were a medication is generally administered through the blood supply resulting in only a small amount of the drug reaching the affected area.
Another good example is Cancer treatment through chemotherapy, in which cancer effected cell are radiated ,but this cause severe damage to unaffected cells to reduce damaging of unaffected cells we directly target to the diseased cells by Nanomedicines. Diagnosis and Imaging (Muldoon, et al. , 2005) NanoMedicine researchers seek to identify and cure life-threatening diseases at the earliest stage. Researchers are exploring ways for nanotechnology and imaging instruments to better analysis disease, while offering less painful and evasive methods to patients.
Imaging is the strategies to identify the cancer type of diseases. The effected cell or part of the body show different color or different property than normal cells we can identify difference in diagnosis and imaging. It show dark spot. Quantum dot technique used to imaging the effected cells. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) presents a major obstacle to the treatment of malignant brain tumors and other central nervous system (CNS) diseases. Various imaging techniques: 1.
PET Imaging of Gliomas:PET imaging can be helpful in differentiating low-grade gliomas,high-grade tumors, and radiation necrosis and allowsdetermination of important clinical parameters such as metabolism. 2. Tracking Magnetically Labeled Stem Cells:Various approaches have been developed using coated SPIO nanoparticles to magnetically label stem cells and other mammaliancells for cellular MR imaging. 14 Ferumoxides, a SPIOapproved by the United States Food and Drug Administration(FDA), in combination with cationic transfection agents suchas poly-L-lysine or the FDA-approved agent, protamine sulfate,can safely and effectively label cells.
3. Functionalized Nanoparticles for Brain Tumor Imaging and Treatment: A multifunctional nanoparticlepolyethyleneglycol-chlorotoxinfluorophore (NPC-Cy5. 5) is capable of targeting gliomacells and is detectable by both MR imaging and fluorescencemicroscopy. Cell and molecular imaging are rapidly converging with the emerging impact of nanotechnology on CNS imaging and therapy. Although currently PET imaging agents appear to be more biochemically specific (ie, FDG-PET) .