The Usage of Nanotechnology in The Field of Medicine (Nanomedicine)

Written by : Noor Ain Bt Mohd Hariri 03008290 The Faculty of Medicine Trisakti Jakarta, 2011
Abstract
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Technology is shrinking at a rather rapid rate. As a result, more and more advancements are taking place at the cellular, molecular and atomic level at the nanoscale. With scientific understanding growing, it is becoming possible to engineer the smallest devices and applications to help in a variety of fields. One of the fields that is likely to benefit greatly from nanotechnology is medicine. Nanotechnology draws its name from the prefix "nano". A nanometer is one-billionth of a metera distance equal to two to twenty atoms (depending on what type of atom) laid down next to each other. Nanotechnology refers to manipulating the structure of matter on a length scale of some small number of nanometers, interpreted by different people at different times as meaning anything from 0.1 nm (controlling the arrangement of individual atoms) to 100 nm or more (anything smaller than microtechnology). Richard Feynman was the first scientist to suggest (in 1959) that devices and materials could someday be fabricated to atomic specifications. This concept was expanded and popularized in a 1986 book Engines of Creation by K Eric Drexler, who applied the term nanotechnology to Feynman's vision.The term "nano-technology" had been coined in 1974 by Norio Taniguichi to describe semiconductor processes involving control on the order of a nanometer.(4) From the mid-1980s on progress in nanometer-scale science and technology exploded, and the term nanotechnology was appropriated by researchers, media, businesses, and funding agencies to refer to any technology in which control of the structure of matter on a scale of nanometers to tens of nanometers to hundreds of nanometers in at least one dimension enabled unique phenomena and novel applications.

Introduction

The use of nanotechnology in medicine offers some exciting possibilities. Some techniques are only imagined, while others are at various stages of testing, or actually being used today.Many fields of endeavor contribute to nanotechnology, including molecular physics, materials science, chemistry, biology, computer science, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering. Nanotechnology in medicine,in other hand, involves applications of nanoparticles currently under development, as well as longer range research that involves the use of manufactured nano-robots to make repairs at the cellular level (sometimes referred to as nanomedicine). Nanotechnology has a great and significant impact in the field of medicine. It is used for diagnosis, tissue engineering, drug delivery, creation of smart drug and many other innumerable applications. One of the biggest advantage of nanotechnology is the fast surgical recovery and tissue re engineering. The researchers of biological and medical field have exploited the unique properties of nanomaterials for various applications. They have added functionalities to nanomaterials by interfacing them with biological molecules or structures because the size is similar. Nanomaterials can be useful for both in vivo and in vitro biomedical research and applications. The integration of nanomaterials with biology has led to the development of diagnostic devices, contrast agents, analytical tools, physical therapy applications, and drug delivery vehicles.(3)

Discussion
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Nanotechnology refers to the use man-made of nano-sized (typically 1-100 billionths of a meter) particles for industrial or medical applications suited to their unique properties. The very different properties of the different types of nanoparticles have resulted in novel applications. For example, compounds known to be generally inert materials, may become catalysts. The extremely small size of nanoparticles allows them to penetrate cells and interact with cellular molecules. Nanoparticles often also have unique electrical properties and make excellent semiconductors and imaging agents. Because of these qualities, the science of nanotechnology has taken off in recent years, with testing and documentation of a broad spectrum of novel uses for nanoparticles, particularly in nanomedicine. Many different types of nanoparticles currently being studied for applications in nanomedicine. They can be carbon-based skeletal-type structures, such as the fullerenes, or micelle-like, lipid-based liposomes, which are already in use for numerous applications in drug delivery and the cosmetic industry. Colloids, typically liposome nanoparticles, selected for their solubility and suspension properties are used in cosmetics, creams, protective coatings and stainresistant clothing. Experimentation with different types of nanoparticles such as quantum dots, carbon nanotubes and magnetic nanoparticles, on somatic cells or microorganisms, has provided useful knowledge in stem cell research,thus make it significant for us to explore more about the usage of nanotechnology in the field of medicine. Nanotechnology in Medicine Application: Diagnostic and Imaging Techniques Nanomaterials generally consist of metal atoms,nonmetal atoms,or a mixture of metal and nonmetal atoms,commonly referred to as metallic,organic,or semi-conducting particles.For the usage or magnetic resonance imaging(MRI),a semiconductor nanomaterial made up of
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cadmium selenide known as CdSe quantum dots (qdots)is used.Nanoparticles are also attractive as a sensitive contrast agents for cancer imaging.On nanoparticle-enhanced MRI,a contrast can be observed between tissues with and those without super paramagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs).In one study,dextran-coated SPIONs were injected into patients with prostate cancer to detect lymph node metastases.The dextran coating increased the circulation time of nano particles,and because of their small size,these particles could transverse the lymphatic vessels to reach lymph nodes and be taken by resident macrophage. The use of SPIONs with MRI,as compared with conventional MRI, was associate with substantial increases in both diagnostic sensitivity (90.5% vs. 35.4%)and specificity (97.9% vs. 90.4%) in detection of metastatic tumors.Magnetic nanoparticles are also being studied in clinical trials for imaging of hyperplasia,adenoma,and more specifically primary lung cancer,in which a decrease in the function of the reticuloendothelial system affects the amount of nonspecific phagocytic uptake.(1) Nanotechnology in Medicine Application: Drug Delivery
For use in humans,FDA have studied a handful of nanomaterials,that is now in clinical trials,and some have already been approved to be used.These nanomaterials are designed to target tumors in

vivo and are intended for use either as drug carriers for therapeutic applications or as contrast agents for diagnostic imanging.Nanomaterials infused into the bloodstream can accumulate in tumors owing to the enhanced permeability and retention effect when the vasculature of immature tumors has pores smaller than 200nm,permitting extravasation of nanoparticles from blood into tumor tissue.The infusion of antineoplastic drugs with nanomaterials as carriers results in an increased payload of drugs to the tumor,ass compared to with conventional

infusion.Nanomaterials have hollow or porous core allows encapsulation of hundreds of drug molecules within a single carrier particle.When the carrier particle degrades,the drug molecules
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are released,and the rate of degradation can be controlled according to the polumer composition.These nanomaterial delivery vehicles can also be coated with polymers,such as polyethylene glycol,to increase their half-life in the blood circulation,thus reducing the rapid metabolism and clearance.The usee of nanomaterials give a great benefit as it may minimize adverse effects by preventing the nonspecific uptake or therapeutic agents into healthy tissues.(1)

Following payload delivery, it is often desirable for the nanoparticles to somehow be removed or metabolized, ideally without any toxic side effects. Indeed, the advantages to using nanoparticles are that toxic side effects of traditional radiation and chemotherapies can be avoided, by treating only the tumor, or unhealthy, cells and not damaging nearby healthy tissue. Some nanoparticles are expected to be relatively safe because of their propensity to dissolve once inside cells, and some consist of materials that are already in use in biomedicine, such as nanoparticles made from the same polymers as are used for sutures. Whatever the approach, the benefits of nanoparticle delivery are enormous and include improved bioavailability of drugs by targeting specific
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organs, tissues or tumors, thereby providing the highest dose of drug directly where it is needed, and reducing waste and costs due to breakdown prior to a drug meeting its target.(2) Nanotechnology in Medicine Application: Therapy Techniques Nanoparticles can be used to treat patients with variety of advanced or metastatic cancers who are no longer responsive to conventional treatment.For this usage,Aurimmune(CytImmune Sciences) which consists of 27-nm gold nanoparticles coated with recombinant human tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-) and polyethylene glycol,is under investigation in phase 2 clinical trials.Histopathological studies have shown that these nanoparticles are localized within or around the tumor,with less uptake into healthy organs than is seem with the direct injection of TNF-.Tje toxic effects and nonspecific accumulation normally associated with direct injection of TNF- are reduced when coated with nanoparticle surface.With intravenous injection of Aurimmune,patients are able to tolerate 20 times the usual dose of TNF-. Another agent under investigation and now in a phase 4 clinical trial is Genexol-PM (Samyang),which consists of 20-nm to 50-nm micelles formed by self-assembly pf polyethylene glycol and lopy-D,L-lactide polymers.The core of these micelles contains paclitaxel,the chemotherapeutic mitotic inhibitor.The micelles were injected into 21 patients with advanced solid tumors that were refractory to conventional therapies.The disease stabilized in 42% of patients,and in 14% of patients,there were positive responses.In both these examples,the patients were able to tolerate a higher drug dose owing to the altered pharmacokinetic behavior of the therapeutic agents with the use of nanoparticles,with no apparent side effects attributable to the nanoparticle carrier.

In another clinical use,gold nanoshells,which comprise a silica core coated with a thin layer of gold,are being used for the treatment of recurrent head and neck tumors.In this application,the nanoshell are injected into the tumor and then illuminated with 700nm to 800 nm light.Apart from these,nanomaterials are also being evaluated in clinical trials as agents for inhibiting the spread of sexually transmitted diseases,by the way of disrupting the biologic interactions between the pathogen and the host.(1) Nanotechnology in Medicine Application: Stem cell Research
Nanotechnology and biomedical treatments using stem cells (such as therapeutic cloning) are among the newest areas of biotechnological research. The potential applications for nanotechnology in stem cell research are mainly three categories like tracking or labeling, delivery and

scaffold/platforms.For visualizing stem cell, MRI labeling can be done by attaching the

nanoparticles to the stem cell surface or causing uptake of the particle by the stem cell through endocytosis or phagocytosis,thus, have helped add to our knowledge of how stem cells migrate in the nervous system. Qdots, on the other hand,are used for studying cellular dynamics while differentiation of stem cells. They are better for visualizing cells than certain other techniques such as dyes, because of their photo stability and longevity.(5)

Conclusion Nanotechnology in medicine is proven to give many benefits for human life.It is really the future technology,as for now,there is yet more research,containing trial and errors need to be conducted so that we can discover more about this technology.From diagnostic to therapy,nanomedicine gives us promising result in many clinical trials,and some of them have
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already been used as therapy for their efficiency.By having targeted drug delivery for example, it allows doctors and patients to benefit from small dosages at just the right place and thus from fewer side-effects. Even without having to understand the cause of the disease, medical researchers expect to deal with it just as things start going wrong with the molecular machinery inside the cell. Smaller dosages, early and efficient treatment are finally said to translate into lower health care costs. In a nutshell,there is more we have to learn about nanomedicine. However,one should therefore not expect nanomedicine to revolutionise medicine.It is one promising avenue by which medicine can advance. At the end of the day, it will have contributed new treatment options for certain diseases, some new nanomedicines, better imaging-techniques and other diagnostic tools. And like all disease-oriented research, it requires public deliberation on which diseases should be prioritised in the context of global healthcare.(6)

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