Novel Applications of Nanotechnology in Medicine (Report‪)‬

Introduction Nanomedicine involves utilization of nanotechnology for the benefit of human health and well being. The use of nanotechnology in various sectors of therapeutics has revolutionized the field of medicine where nanoparticles of dimensions ranging between 1-100 nm are designed and used for diagnostics, therapeutics and as biomedical tools for research (1). It is now possible to provide therapy at a molecular level with the help of these tools, thus treating the disease and assisting in study of the pathogenesis of disease. Conventional drugs suffer from major limitations of adverse effects occurring as a result of non specificity of drug action and lack of efficacy due to improper or ineffective dosage formulation (e.g., cancer chemotherapy and antidiabetic agents). Designing of drugs with greater degree of cell specificity improves efficacy and minimizes adverse effects. Diagnostic methods with greater degree of sensitivity aid in early detection of the disease and provide better prognosis. Nanotechnology is being applied extensively to provide targeted drug therapy, diagnostics, tissue regeneration, cell culture, biosensors and other tools in the field of molecular biology. Various nanotechnology platforms like fullerenes, nanotubes, quantum dots, nanopores, dendrimers, liposomes, magnetic nanoprobes and radio controlled nanoparticles are being developed.