Nanotechnology & Medicine

1. Nanotechnology & Medicine

2. Nanoscience • The prefix “nano”is a Greek word for “dwarf” • One nanometer (nm) is equal to one-billionth of a meter • About a width of 6 carbon atoms or 10 water molecules • A human hair is approximately 80,000 nm wide • Red blood cells is 7000 nm wide • Atoms are smaller than 1 nanometer • Molecules and some proteins are between 1 nm and above

3. Nanoscience • The concept of nanotechnology was first coined by Richard Feynman in 1959 in his lecture “There’s plenty of room at the bottom” • Manipulating material at a scale of individual atoms and molecules • Imagining the whole Encyclopedia Britannica written on head of a pin

4. Nanoscience • At IBM in the US, a technique called electron beam lithography was used to create nanostructures and devices as small as 40 to 70 nm in the early 1970s

5. Nanotechnology in Medicine Nanotechnology is a new field with many possible uses, medicine being one of them

6. Nanotechnology • “The manufacturing technology of the 21st century" • The study and manufacture of devices of molecular dimensions, in the range of nanometers or one-billionth of a meter • Most of industrial manufacturing processes are based on top-down technologies -- i.e., they take larger objects and make them smaller yielding products of fairly high precision and complexity

7. Nanotechnology • Most products of living organisms are constructed by tiny molecular machines, such as cells and organelles, working from thebottom up.  • By organizing individual atoms and molecules into particular configurations, these molecular machines are able to create works of astonishing complexity and size, such as the human being

8. BODY SYSTEMS CELL Plasma membrane Organelles Nucleus Cytosol 75 TRILLION CELLS

9. Nanotechnology • Nature (Allah) shows that molecules can serve as machines because living things work by means of such machinery • Enzymes are molecular machines that make, break, and rearrange the bonds holding other molecules together  • Muscles are driven by molecular machines that haul fibers past one another 

10. Nanotechnology DNA serves as a data-storage system, transmitting digital instructions to molecular machines e.g., the ribosomes, that manufacture protein molecules.

12. Illustrated Figure GOLGI COMPLEX Electron Micrograph

13. THREE DIMENSIONAL ILLUSTRATION OF CELL STRUCTURES VISIBLE UNDER AN ELECTRON MICROSCOPE

14. ANATOMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF ERYTHROCYTES (RBCS)

15. An old red blood cell White blood cell PHAGOCYTOSIS AN OLD RBC BEING ENGULFED BY A WBC

16. Nanotechnology • Using special bacterium-sized "assembler" devices, nanotechnology would permit on a programmable basis exact control of molecular structures that are not readily manipulated by natural molecular machines and molecular techniques presently available. • With nanotechnology, atoms will be specifically placed and connected, all at very rapid rates, in a fashion similar to processes found in living organisms

23. HEAT METAL IONS

26. A future application of Cornell's molecular motor research: With the integration of biomolecular motor devices and cell-signalling systems -- by engineering a secondary binding site tailored to a cell's signalling cascade -- researchers plan to use the cell's sensory system to control nanodevices implanted in living cells.Nanoscale Biological Engineering and Transport Group/Cornell University.

27. Nanomedicine • Some medicines are made through biotechnological processes, for example those using recombinant DNA (human hepatitis vaccine) • Under these processes the DNA of living creatures (usually bacteria) is altered • Nanotechnology represents a similar approach to the manufacture of pharmaceuticals and other goods.

28. Nanorobots: Medicine of the Future • What are they? • Nanorobots are nanodevices that will be used for the purpose of maintaining and protecting the human body against pathogens. • They will have a diameter of about 0.5 to 3 microns and will be constructed out of parts with dimensions in the range of 1 to 100 nanometers

29. Nanorobots • The powering of the nanorobots can be done by metabolizing local glucose and oxygen for energy • Other sources of energy within the body can also be used to supply the necessary energy for the devices • They will have simple onboard computers capable of performing around 1000 or fewer computations per second.

30. Nanorobots • A navigational network may be installed in the body, which may provide high positional accuracy to all passing nanorobots • This will enable the physician to keep track of the various devices in the body

31. Nanorobots • These nanorobots will be able to distinguish between different cell types by checking their surface antigens • When the task of the nanorobots is accomplished, they can be retrieved by allowing them to exfuse themselves via the usual human excretory channels

32. Application of Nanotechnology in Medicine Diagnostic - Imaging - Quantum dots - Microscopic sampling • Detection of airway abnormalities Therapeutic • Delivering medication to the exact location • Killing of bacteria, viruses & cancer cells • Repair of damaged tissues • Oxygen transport • Skin and dental care • Augmentation of immune system • Treatment of Atherosclerosis • The clottocyte concept • Brain enhancement

33. Diagnostic Applications of Nanotechnology in Medicine • Improved imaging of the human (or any) body • Nanoprobes (miniature machines) can attach themselves to particles in the body (e.g., antibodies) and emit a magnetic field. • Probes that aren’t attached to anything don’t create a detectable magnetic • Nano-tracking may be able to detect tumors that are a few cells in size. (Alivisatos, 2001)

34. Diagnostic Applications of Nanotechnology in Medicine • Another way to use nanotech as tracking devices is to use “quantum dots” • These tiny semiconductors are able to emit wavelengths of light (colors) that depend on their size. If quantum dot A is twice as big as quantum dot B, it will emit a different color. • Quantum dots are better than conventional dyes: • They last much longer • More colors can be made available.

35. “A microscopic machine roaming through the bloodstream, injecting or taking samples for identification and determining the concentrations of different compounds"

36. A single inhaled nanorobot reaches, deeply inspired into the lungs, enters an alveolar duct and attaches to the tissue surface.

37. Therapeutic Applications of Nanotechnology in Medicine • Nanotech is capable of delivering medication to the exact location where they are needed – hence lesser side effects • Organic dendrimers - a type of artificial molecule roughly the size of a protein- would be ideal for the job of delivering medicine • Hollow polymer capsules - gold-coated glass beads that are near infrared light sensitive

38. Therapeutic Applications of Nanotechnology in Medicine • Destruction of harmful eukaryotic organisms / cancer cells by interrupting their division process • Certain proteins are capable of doing this (e.g., Bc12 family of proteins)

39. Therapeutic Applications of Nanotechnology in Medicine • Nanoprobe can be made to generate radiation, that could kill bacteria, viruses and cancer cells • Nanoprobe comprising of a single caged actinium-225 atom would detect (using antibodies) and enter a cancerous cell • Location and destruction of cancer cells by acoustic signals

40. Normal cells Cancer cells COMPARISON OF NORMAL AND CANCEROUS CELLS IN RESPIRATORY AIRWAY OF THE LUNG

41. Cancer cell Lethal holes A CYTOTOXIC T CELL DESTROYING A CANCER CELL Cytotoxic T cell

42. Mechanical drilling of a small tumor massby a nanorobot

43. Therapeutic Applications of Nanotechnology in Medicine • Nanotechnology also theoretically allows the mimicking of natural biological processes e.g., repair of damaged tissues • Using nanotech to build scaffoldings of artificial molecules that bone cells often adhere to and grow bones on • Broken bones would heal much faster. • Transport of oxygen within the body by creating an artificial red blood cell

44. A simulated view of a blood sample that might be taken from some future trauma patient who has received approximately seven therapeutic respirocyte doses at an accident scene. Each single respirocyte in the scene can control nearly the same amount of available oxygen as all eight red cells present in the scene, combined.

45. Therapeutic Applications of Nanotechnology in Medicine To cure skin diseases, a cream containing nanorobots may be used it may: - Remove the right amount of dead skin - Remove excess oils - Add missing oils - Apply the right amounts of natural moisturising compounds - Achieve the elusive goal of 'deep pore cleaning' by actually reaching down into pores and cleaning them out.

46. Therapeutic Applications of Nanotechnology in Medicine A mouthwash full of smart nanomachines could identify and destroy pathogenic bacteria while allowing the harmless flora of the mouth to flourish in a healthy ecosystem

47. Dental Robots Four remote-controlled nanorobots examine and clean the subocclusal surfaces of a patient's teeth, near the gumline.

48. Therapeutic Applications of Nanotechnology in Medicine Medical nanodevices could augment the immune system by finding and disabling unwanted bacteria and viruses.

49. Virus Finder

50. Therapeutic Applications of Nanotechnology in Medicine Devices working in the bloodstream could nibble away at atherosclerotic deposits, widening the affected blood vessels. This would prevent most heart attacks