An Introspection

Vincia paul , final year part I, GDC, Calicut

o Nanotechnology is the science of manipulating matter measured in the billionths of meters or nanometer, roughly the size of 2 or 3 atoms. o The basic idea of nanotechnology is to employ individual atoms and molecules to construct functional structures.

o Nanomedicine is the medical use of molecularsized particles to deliver drugs, heat, light or other substances to specific cells in the human body. o Engineering particles used in this way allows detection and/or treatment of diseases or injuries within the targeted cells, thereby minimizing the damage to healthy cells in the body.

o There are 2 approaches: Top Down Bottom

Up o Assemblers Nanoscopic machines programmed to manipulate atoms & molecules at will. o Replicators Programmed to build

 QDots Nanoparticles Nanoshells

Dendrimers

Qdots
o QDs are inorganic semiconductor nanocrystals having typical diameter between 2-8 nm that possess unique luminescent properties. o Composed of a semiconductor core (Cd + Se/Tellurium) & a shell of Zn Sulphide that improves the optical properties of Qdot.

Qdots have such potential because they can be color encoded, with different colors used to label different cell processes, different cancers or different stages of the same cancer, Currently, a positron emission tomography (PET) scan can tell doctors the locations of tumors throughout the body, based on targeting the PET probe to a single tumor marker. With qdots, however, several different markers of the same tumor could be simultaneously "painted," Figure 1. Various steps in employing QDs for for in vivo generating a color barcode diagnosis of cancer. real-time "optical biopsy" and (a) Formation of QD bioconjugates, diagnosis. (b) Intravenous injection of QD bioconjugates into mouse,
(c) Active targeting of tumour

Figure 2. Applications of Quantum dots.

Invitro Imaging Of Fixed cells & tissues, Intracellular organelles & molecules, & surface membrane In vivo targeting of cells, tissues, organs, & tumors in animals for diagnoses, therapy & drug testing

o Qdots
Bioanalytical Assays such as fluorescent activated cell sorting (FACS) Analysis & Microarrays Near Future Applications: Biosensors Drug Delivery Disease Treatment

Nanoparticles
o Deliver chemotherapy drugs directly to cancer cells to minimize damage to healthy cells.

o Chemotherapy drugs work by impairing cell division and are effective treatments for early-stage tumours, when cancer cells are rapidly multiplying. But they also produce a range of unpleasant side effects. Targeting chemotherapy drugs directly at the tumour would increase effectiveness and reduce side

o The researchers from Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed a range of nanoparticles (around 150nm in diameter) made of the biodegradable polymer poly(d,l-lactic-co-glycolic acid) and poly(ethylene glycol). o They encapsulated the chemotherapy drug docetaxel in these nanoparticles and attached

o Different aptamers bind to specific proteins, and the researchers attached an aptamer that could bind to prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), which is expressed on the surface of prostate cancer cells. The researchers found that the nanoparticles bound to PSMA and were taken up by prostate cancer cells in vitro, where the nanoparticles would dissolve to release the docetaxel. o By incorporating different drugs and attaching

Nanoshells
o Naomi Halas, professor of chemistry and electrical and computer engineering at Rice University created tiny particles called nanoshells

o Nanoshells are miniscule beads coated with gold.

o By manipulating the thickness of the layers making up the nanoshells, scientists can design these beads to

o The absorption of light by the nanoshells creates an intense heat that is lethal to cells.

Nanoshells as Cancer Therapy

o Nanoshells are linked to antibodies that recognize cancer cells. o They seek out their cancerous targets, then applying near-infrared light. o In laboratory cultures, the heat generated by the light-absorbing nanoshells has successfully killed

Nanoshells are coated with a substance that binds them to cancer cells

Dendrimers
o Dendrimers are man-made molecules about the size of an average protein, and have a branching shape. This shape gives them vast amounts of surface area to which scientists can attach therapeutic agents or other biologically active molecules facilitating their movements throughout the human body. o Dendrimers, unlike polymers, have very precisely defined chemical structures in which the position of any particular atom can be

Dendrimers as Cancer Therapy

o Researchers hope to manipulate dendrimers to release their contents only in the presence of certain trigger molecules associated with cancer. o Following drug release, the dendrimers may also report back whether they are successfully killing their targets Tecto-Dendrimers o A single dendrimer can carry a molecule that recognizes cancer cells, a therapeutic

Freitas has described how medical nanorobots might utilize specific motility mechanisms to crawl or swim through human body tissues with navigational precision, acquire energy, sense and manipulate their surroundings, achieve safe cytopenetration (e.g., pass through plasma membranes such as the odontoblastic process without disrupting the cell), and employ any of a multitude of techniques to monitor, interrupt, or alter nerve impulse traffic in individual nerve cells, in real time.

o These nanorobot functions may be controlled by an onboard nanocomputer executing preprogrammed instructions in response to local sensor stimuli. o Alternatively, the dentist may issue strategic instructions by transmitting his orders directly to in vivo nanorobots via acoustic signals (e.g., ultrasound) or by other means like an admiral commanding a fleet.

Conclusion
o Nanotechnologies that will aid in cancer care are in various stages of discovery and development. o Experts believe that qdots & other devices for detection & diagnosis may be available for clinical use in 5 to 15 years. o Therapeutic agents are expected to be available within a similar time frame.

o Devices that integrate