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Abstract:
Nanotechnology, the technology of achieving great things through small things has impacted
every field over the last few decades. The field of oncology has received a huge share in this revolution of
nanotechnology. This revolution though quiet recent has done a lot in modernizing the diagnosis and
treatment of cancer. Traditional methods like Radiotherapy, Chemotherapy and Surgery have proved to be
ineffective. Radiation damages skin, mouth, throat and bowel cells, and can lead to fatigue, nausea, and
permanent hair loss. On the other hand chemotherapy can produce hearing loss and damage to a number
of organs, including the heart and kidneys. Cancer has to be cured from within and the only way to do so
is through nanotechnology. Nanotechnology uses a process called encapsulation to help carry drugs to kill
cancer. By the innovations such as dendrimers, CNTs, nanobots, etc., cancer treatment is never again a
farfetched dream, but one that is ready to be deployed in the very near future. This paper aims to explore
all the presently available innovations in nanotechnology for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
1. Introduction:
Nanotechnology
has
somehow
become a topic of great interest in almost
every field of science. From military
weapons to medicine, from sunscreens to
full body armors, nanotechnology has been
playing an important role in all of this.
Nanothech weapons are considered as green
weapons. Nano build medicines are doing
wonders in a number of different diseases.
In
computers,
the
application
of
nanotechnology is pushing the computer
towards the usage of SLSI in its
components. Thus nanotechnology has
become an inevitable part in almost all fields
of science. And combating cancer is not far
from this. Over the years, scientists from
around the globe have been researching on
the various methods by which cancer can be
cured by nanotechnology. As a consequence
of this, a large number of methods are being
developed in a race to find the perfect
method of combating cancer. This paper
Skin pain
Itching
Changes in taste
Loss of appetite
Nausea
Vomiting
Increased
infection
The
traditional
methods
of
combating cancer has been around here for a
long period of time. Some of the widely
used methods are,
3.1. Radiation therapy:
Cancer cells multiply faster than
normal cells in the body. Because radiation
is most harmful to rapidly growing cells,
radiation therapy damages cancer cells more
than normal cells. Specifically, radiation
therapy damages the DNA of cancer cells.
Doing so prevents the cancer cells from
growing and dividing. Unfortunately, certain
healthy cells can also be killed by this
process. The death of healthy cells can lead
to side effects. Radiation therapy is used to
fight many types of cancer. It is often used
to shrink a tumor as much as possible before
surgery. Radiation can also be given after
surgery to prevent the cancer from coming
back.For certain types of cancer, radiation is
the only treatment needed. Radiation
treatment may also be used to provide
temporary relief of symptoms, or to treat
cancers that cannot be removed with
surgery.
Radiation therapy can have many side
effects. These side effects depend on the part
of the body receiving radiation, the dose of
radiation, and how often you have the
therapy.
Hair loss
susceptibility
to
4. Surgery:
6. Dendrimers:
A dendrimer is generally described
as a macromolecule, which is characterized
by its highly branched 3D structure that
provides a high degree of surface
functionality and versatility. Dendrimers
have often been refered to as the Polymers
of the 21st century. The word dendrimer
originated from two words, the Greek
word dendron, meaning tree, and meros,
meaning part. Dendrimers are built from a
starting atom, such as nitrogen, to which
carbon and other elements are added by a
repeating series of chemical reactions that
produce a spherical branching structure. As
the process repeats, successive layers are
added, and the sphere can be expanded to
the size required.
7. Gold nanospheres:
Gold nanospheres (also known as
gold colloids) of 2 nm to over 100 nm in
diameter can be synthesized by controlled
reduction of an aqueous HAuCl4 solution
using different reducing agents under
varying conditions. The size of the
nanospheres can be controlled by varying
the citrate/gold ratio. Generally, smaller
amount of citrate will yield larger
nanospheres. The special property of these
gold nanospheres is the ability of them to
emit heat when they are subjected to
particular wavelengths of radiation. The type
of radiation to which a gold nanosphere
could emit heat highly depends on its size.
With increasing particle size, the absorption
peak shifts to a longer wavelength and the
width of the absorption spectra is related to
the size distribution range.
8. In vivo imaging:
Many paramagnetic nanoparticles
have been used for magnetic resonance
(MR) imaging, both preclinically and
clinically. Recently, Au3Cu1 nanoshells
were reported to be capable of enhancing the
contrast of blood vessels in vivo, which
suggested their potential use in MR
angiography as blood-pool agents. Raman
spectroscopy is the most promising imaging
technique for gold nanoparticle-based
contrast agents.
10. Nanobots:
11. Conclusion: