www.medicalnanotec.com

- CT

A team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)  have developed carbon nanotubes that can be used to sense cancer drugs (chemotherapy drug Cisplatin) and environemntal toxins and free radicals that have the potential to damage DNA.

The sensors are made of carbon nanotubes coated in DNA. This binds the DNA-damaging agents present in the cell. The interaction between the DNA damaging agent and the coated nantubule changes the intensity and/or wavelength of the fluorescent light emitted by the coated nanotube. These signals can even be used to detect which chemicals are binding to the DNA coated nanotube.

This technology means that not only can you tell where the chemotherapy drugs are but also whether they are active or not. Such technology would therefore be able to monitor chemotherapy patients to ensure that the drugs are effectively battling the tumors.

This work was detailed in a paper entitled “Multimodal optical sensing and analyte specificity using single-walled carbon nanotubes”, and was supported by NCI. In an initiative to accelerate the usage of nanotechnology in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. – CT

Abstract at : 

http://www.nature.com/nnano/journal/v4/n2/abs/nnano.2008.369.html

I have recently found a company in Victoria Australia who ship small introductory Nanotechnology learning packages for students, businesses and households. The introductory kit comes in a fun carbon nanotube shaped container. The pack includes an easy to use manual detailing many topics in Nanotechnology, ranging from Biomimicry to the ethical questions and challenges of Nanotechnology. The pack contains enough materials for 12 kitchen top experiments showcasing different aspects of Nanotechnology in action. For instance the booklet describes how to build a small model of Buckminster Fullerene and explains to you the hopes for its usage in Medical applications. The package comes with a CD-ROM with many animations of Nanotechnology in action, which I feel would be brilliant to enthuse students in science about Nanotechnology whilst still at school.

I found when I was still at school there was very little in the curriculum about Nanotechnology at all. So I feel that a product like this targeted towards school children would be a great step forward in educating people about the fast evolving science of Nanotechnology. After all as scientists it is very important for us to gain the trust of the public and for that to happen they must understand what we are doing. Without the backing of the general populace our research aims especially for Medical Nanotechnology will be very limited. So I believe for the evolution of Medical Nanotechnology as an emerging science we must now start to educate about its merits and about its possible problems. For this reason I believe that this product is a great introduction to Nanotechnology for anybody interested in the subject – CT

More information about the Nanobits introductory kit can be found at: http://www.nanobits.org/products.html

I have been reading “Plenty of Room for Biology at the Bottom” recently. The book focuses on giving an introduction into Biotechnology and Bionanotechnology, which is very accessible for anybody with a grounding in chemistry or biology. The book covers topics from the natural process of Nano-scale biological assembly to Bionanotechnologies possible future Medical applications. There is a fascinating small chapter concluding the book discussing what E. Gazit believes the future holds for bionanotechology and its possible dangers.

I found this book brought the main concepts of Bionanotechnology across very well and clearly. It would be a very good first read for anybody wishing to know more about the fascinating developing science of Bionanotechnology – CT

“Plenty of Room for Biology at the Bottom, An Introduction to Bionantechnology”, E.Gazit, Imperial college press 2007

Can be found from the publisher at:  http://www.icpress.co.uk/lifesci/p465.html

News source: http://www.physorg.com/news152772851.html

This technique is said to have few side effects. The gold nanospheres are made out of pure gold, which has a long history of safe medical usage. Such a new technique if proven to be effective in humans could revolutionize medical treatment of cancers, which to all intents and purposes has not changed all that much since the Ancient Greek poison and removal method of cancer treatment (nowadays surgery and chemotherapy). With this tool for more efficient photoablation of cancerous cells all that would need to be done is find a way of targeting other tumor types possibly through the targeting of up-regulated cellular stress ligands.

This technology I feel has great potential for furthering our abilities to medically combat cancer. – CT

Bionanotechnology is a very broad term, which describes the fusion of the two disciplines of biology and nanotechnology. It encompasses such things as the use of biomolecules in nanotechnology, and the study of the living cells nano-machinery, to help guide the development of nano-machinery.

Medical Nanotechnology is the applications that nanotechnology can have clinically. Whether this be by creating novel drug delivery methods or ways of fighting cancer from within the body.

Nanotechnology is nowadays being talked about as the technology that may allow humans to have “biblical” lifespans by revolutionizing the way we treat disease and illness. The possibilities are endless.

There is concern about the risks to the environment and to our health using nanomaterials in the clinic. Whether the benefits of such a technology would outweigh the risks. How would such a technologies use be regulated and safe guarded from being put into harmful use.

I hope this opens up the topic and is accesible to those from scientific background and to those who have an interest in the subject – CT