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Role of Nanotechnology in Cancer Treatment

S.Indrana, S.Darish Jeswin Dhasb


a Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Loyola Institute of Technology and Science.
b Student, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Loyola Institute of Technology and Science.

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

aims to give the various major technologies


currently developed.

2. The Cancer Explosion:


Cancer in India has been growing
very rapidly in the last few decades. From
the start of the 21st century, India has been
seeing a phenomenal growth every year.
Back in the 1990s, WHOs report on cancer
in India had stated that Cancer rates in
India are considerably lower than those in
more developed countries such as the
United States. But in the year 2005, WHO
reported the straight opposite. The survey
which included more than 200000 patients
with histopathalogically confirmed
cancers, reported that India has one
of the highest cancer rates in the world.
Surprisingly, that is the fact. Also, studies
show that Kanyakumari district is one of the
highest cancer infected districts in India.
The International Cancer Centre(ICC)
situated in Neyoor also has its reports

showing an escalation in the number of


cancer patients getting treated every year.
But the saddest part is that most of the
patients come with cancer in the advanced
stages well above treatable conditions with
the presently available technologies.
Sufficient technology is required to combat
this menace.

Skin pain

Red, burning skin

Shedding of the outer layer of skin


(desquamation)

Increased skin coloring (hyper


pigmentation)

3.The Traditional methods:

Thinning of skin tissue (atrophy)

Itching

Fatigue and malaise

Low blood counts

Difficulty or painful swallowing

Edema (swelling of skin and soft


tissues)

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

Radiation therapy can be harmful to a


developing baby in the womb during
pregnancy.
3.2. Chemotherapy:
Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill
bacteria, viruses, fungi, and cancer cells. Most
commonly, the term is used to refer to cancerkilling drugs.

Chemotherapy may be used to:

Cure the cancer

Keep the cancer from spreading

Ease symptoms (when the cancer


cannot be cured)

3.2.1. Side Effects Of Chemotherapy:

4. Surgery:

Chemotherapy medicines work best on cells


that divide often to make new cells. This is
typical of most cancer cells. However, some
normal cells -- including those found in the
blood, hair, and the lining of the
gastrointestinal tract also divide very
quickly. Chemotherapy can also damage or
kill these healthy cells.

Surgery is usually the first choice


used by physicians. It also has an important
role in diagnosing and staging of cancer.
Prophylactic/Preventive surgery is used to
remove tissues which are not malignant, but
are liable to turn cancerous. Diagnostic
surgery is used to obtain a tissue sample to
analyze whether or not it is malignant or to
determine the type of cancer it is. Curative
surgery is the removal of a tumor when it
appears to be confined to one area. It is done
when its possible by surgery to remove
whole of the malignant tissue. It is a primary
treatment of cancer and may be used alone
or along with chemotherapy or radiation
therapy. However, it is not effective if the
cancer has spread. Also there is the normal
risks of complications, associatied with most
surgeries.

When this damage occurs, there can be side


effects. Some people who receive
chemotherapy:

Are more likely to have infections

Become tired more easily

Bleed too much, even during


everyday activities

Feel pain from damage to the


nerves

Have a dry mouth, mouth sores, or


swelling in the mouth

Have a poor appetite and lose


weight

Have an upset stomach, vomiting,


and diarrhea

Side effects of chemotherapy depend on


many things, including the type of cancer,
and which drugs are being used. Each
patient reacts differently to these drugs.
Despite of the fact that the traditional
methods work, the side effects are
overwhelming. Once these methods are
used, it leaves the patient in a devastated
state making the time of recovery very long.
Also theses methods have very low success
rate. This is mainly due to the almost
blindfolded approach. Nanotechnology aims
to have a better approach in combating
cancer.

5. The Nano Advantage:


Nanotechnolgy could be used in both cancer
diagnosis and therapy. It could overcome
most of the shorcomings (like collateral
damage to healthy cells) of the conventional
methods of Cancer diagnosis/treatment. The
ability to simultaneously interact with
multiple critical proteins and nucleic acids at
the molecular level will provide a better
understanding of the complex regulatory and
signaling patterns that govern the behavior
of cells in their normal state as well as the
transformation
into malignant cells.
Nanotechnology provides a platform for
integrating research in proteomics the
study of the structure and function of
proteins, including the way they work and
interact with each other inside cells -- with
other scientific investigations into the
molecular nature of cancer.

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.

The specialty of these dendrimers is


that that they are highly branched from the
nano scale. Thus, these have the capacity to
absorb the drugs that is to be taken to the
cancer cite and deliver it. It can also be
coated with proteins that stick up only with
the proteins of the cancer cells. Thus it is
possible to target the cancer cells in specific
and deliver the drugs. This is very effective
since the drug is delivered on site rather than
simply injecting it which could affect the
other healthy cells also. Thus specially
fashioned dendrimers can be put into an
effective and sophisticated anticancer
therapy machines carrying 5 important
chemical tools: (i) a molecule designed to
bind cancerous cells and tumors, (ii)
fluorescence
upon
locating
genetic

mutations, (iii) to assist in imaging tumor


shape using Xrays, (iv)carrying therapeutic
agents released on demand and (v) signaling
when cancerous cells are finally dead.

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.

The main advantage of this in cancer


is the use of it imagery. These spheres can
be coated with special proteins that have the
ability to attach to only to the cancer cells.
Thus when they are let into the body, they
attach themselves to the cancer cells. Then
when a UV or IR radiation is shown from
outside the body, they heat up. Thus it
makes it easier for imaging the cancer cells.
The other application that is even more
efficient in combating cancer is the direct

attack on the cancer cells by using heat to


cook up the cancer cells thereby killing
them. This is precise because of the fact that
the cancer cells die out in a temperature
lesser than the normal cells would take to
die.

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.

Raman imaging holds signifi cant


potential as a strategy for biomedical
imaging of living subjects. In clinical
settings, optical imaging (including Raman
spectroscopy) is only relevant for tissues
close to the surface of the skin (for example,
breast imaging), tissues accessible by
endoscopy (such as the esophagus and
colon), and intraoperative visualization
(typically image guided surgery). NIR
optical imaging devices for detecting and
diagnosing breast cancer have been tested in

patients and the initial results are


encouraging. Multiple SERS nanoparticles
with different absorption wavelengths in the
NIR region, which can allow for
multiplexed imaging of many tumor markers
simultaneously if efficient targeting can be
achieved, may have significant potential
clinical applications.

9. Carbon Nano Tubes:


Carbon Nano Tubes are a class of
nano particles that in the form of very
minute tubes in the nano scale. They are
basically allotropes of carbon with a
cylindrical
nanostructure.
These
cylindrical carbon molecules have unusual
properties, which are valuable for
nanotechnology, electronics, optics and ther
fields of materials science and technology.
Recently, CNTs have been used in a micro
fluid device to detect the cancer cells and
especially, their origin. The device consists
of a large number of the CNTs that are put
as posts. When the cancer cells flow
through, they get attached to these posts
thereby its presence can be known. Yet
another application of CNTs in combating
cancer comes in drug delivery. These can be
used in directly delivering the drug to the
cancer site.

10. Nanobots:

11. Conclusion:

Nanobots are robots that are in


nanoscale size. A nanobot is just similar to
that of a robot except for its size. Recently,
nanobots have gained great importance in
the field of oncology. The cancer cell
proteins targeted by the nanoparticledelivered agent were indeed split at exactly
the place the researchers intended, Davis
said. This is the first time this mechanism
has been demonstrated in humans, and its
implications stretch to many forms of cancer
and farther afield into other diseases. The
idea is to use a nanobot as a carrier whose
payload is mainly a chemotherapatic agent.
By using the nanobot as a vehicle, the
chemotherapatic agents can be directly
delivered to the cancer cite. Thus not only
the problem of other healthy cells is
eliminated, the dosage can be increased
phenomenally this is because the drugs are
delivered onsite and not given to the body as
a whole. Thus the possibility of toxicity can
be completely eliminated.

Research in Nanotechnology has


gained great momentum in the past few
years. And interestingly, one of the main
areas of concern had been cancer. Thus
cancer has received a lot of attention from
the nanotechnology. The potential of
nanotechnology in combating cancer is
really immense. Everywhere around the
globe, hundreds of scientists and scholars
are trying every method possible in
combating this giant enemy of mankind. But
despite of all the research, the real problem
comes in the implementation stage. Thereby,
most of the research remains in the
laboratory itself. The other major obstacle is
the cost factor. The cost factor is always is
and always will be the prime obstacle since
the real success of a system comes only
when that system can be utilized by the
richest of the rich and all the poorer people.
But despite of all this, it is nanotechnology
the only promising way in dealing with
cancer.
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Warren
W.
Wood
et
al,
Computational Nanomechatronics:
A Pathway for Control and
Manufacturing Nanorobots, IEEE
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Woong Ryeol Lee et al, Magnetic
levitating
polymeric
nano/microparticular substrates for
three-dimensional
tumor
cell
culture, Elsevier, 2011.
Sunil Kumar et al, Atomic force
microscopy: a powerful tool for

high-resolution imaging, BioMed


Central, 5April 2005.
Wolfgang Zesch et al, Inertial
Drives for Micro- and Nanorobots,
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Federal
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Dendrimers:
Properties
and
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Maria Bryszewska, Department of
General Biophysics, University of
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