NANOBIOLOGY

-Where Nanotechnology and

Biology Come Together
 Nanotechnology
 The postulated ability to
manufacture objects and
structures with atomic
precision, literally atom by
atom. This would mirror
the abilities of living cells.
 Collection of molecular
scale manufacturing
systems
 Multi-disciplinarian,
system level arena of
scientific and technical
development
 Nanobiology

Many fundamental biological functions are

carried out by molecular machineries that
have the sizes of 1-100 nm
eg., ribosomes, enzymes, nuclear pore etc.,
Movements, shapes, localization
Merges mechanistic biology and
morphology
 Applications
• Nanoscale sensors-
determine defective cells
• Protein nanoarrays
• Proteins transformed
into sophisticated
'biosensors’
• Carbon nanofibers
• World's smallest
biological computing
device-enzymes and
DNA in salt water
• Nanoflowers
 Nanomedicine
 Monitoring, repair, construction and
control of human biological systems at the
molecular level
 Offshoot of nanotechnology
 Highly specific medical intervention at the
molecular scale
 Covers nanoparticle drug delivery
 Cloning, especially Paleocloning
eg., Huia bird, Asia Gaur etc.,
 Nanomedicine (contd..)
 Artificial cells are, basically, artificial
microscopic structures about the same
size as biological cells and having some of
the functional properties of biological cells.
 Useful as a partial substitute for human
cells and organs.
 Nanorobots - the ultimate medical devices
of the near future….
 Nanorobots
Micron-scale robot assembled
from nanoscale parts
Principal element-Carbon
-tremendous strength
-chemical inertness
•Watertight and airtight
•Different shapes and sizes for
different tasks
•Exfuse themselves from the
body via the usual human
excretory channels
 Nanorobots (contd..)
• Diamond surface- passive, hydrophobic
• Have no artificial intelligence
• metabolize local glucose and oxygen for energy
• Communication using acoustic signals
• Identify cells based on surface antigens
• Use C13-monitor by MRI
• Identifying and isolating Cancer cells
• Better than Radiation Therapy, Chemotherapy
• Can be used to treat Vascular disease, physical
trauma, even biological aging
No actual working nanorobot has
yet been built !!!

Would totally change the world of

medicine once it is realized
RECENT ADVANCEMENTS
Nanocontainers Deliver Drugs
Directly to Cells
•20 to 45
nanometers in dia
•Hydrophobic,
hydrophilic
•Forms micelle
•Reach Golgi
apparatus,
mitochondria
•Administer small
doses efficiently
 Neurochips

Interfaces neurons with

electronics
Integrate immature neurons
into small wells etched into a
silicon substrate
Potential applications - Neural
prosthetics, sensory
enhancement systems etc.,
Molecular protein "snippets"
induced into bonding with a
receptor site
• Nanocomputer CPU
-size of a single cell
-less power wastage, more
efficient than human brain
• Eliminate virtually all common
diseases
• Dawn of a new era of peace…..
 REFERENCES
• http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org
• http://www.sciam.com
• http://www.biota.org/ostman/nchip.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_n
anotechnology
• http://www.foresight.org/Nanomedicine/
• http://www.nanotechweb.org/